Abstract
This paper compares and assesses several numerical methods that solve the steady-state power flow problem on integrated transmission-distribution networks. The integrated network model consists of a balanced transmission and an unbalanced distribution network. It is important to analyze these integrated electrical power systems due to the changes related to the energy transition. We classified the existing integration methods as unified and splitting methods. These methods can be applied to homogeneous (complete three-phase) and hybrid (single-phase/three-phase) network models, which results in four approaches in total. These approaches were compared on their accuracy and numerical performance—CPU time and number of iterations—to demonstrate their applicability on large-scale electricity networks. Furthermore, their sensitivity towards the amount of distributed generation and the addition of multiple distribution feeders was investigated. The methods were assessed by running power flow simulations using the Newton–Raphson method on several integrated power systems up to 25,000 unknowns. The assessment showed that unified methods applied to hybrid networks performed the best on these test cases. The splitting methods are advantageous when complete network data sharing between system operators is not allowed. The use of high-performance techniques for larger test cases containing multiple distribution networks will make the difference in speed less significant.
Highlights
The study of steady-state power flow solvers for integrated electricity networks is gaining more attention due to challenges that arise from the energy transition
The splitting methods are advantageous as only a minimum amount of data sharing is necessary to perform load flow computations
There is still a clear distinction between these two, because computations in the unified methods need to be made on the same computer, while in the case of the master–slave splitting methods, system operators can be in geographically distinct locations and each can run their own computations
Summary
The study of steady-state power flow solvers for integrated electricity networks is gaining more attention due to challenges that arise from the energy transition. Integrated electricity networks are networks that consist of a transmission and a distribution network. Due to the energy transition, more renewable energy is entering the grid at the distribution level, and demand-side participation as a mechanism to balance frequency is increasing, even as the electricity consumption increases due to the rise of, amongst others, electric vehicles [1,2]. Integrated network models are key to study the interaction that these networks have with each other in this changing environment. These challenges increase the size of the network and the frequency of network state analysis. Load flow solvers should be capable of solving the integrated power flow problem, and run these computations fast and efficiently
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