Smart Grid Concept Research Articles

Critical Solution to Power Grid Problems Using Smart Grid –A Case Study on Karnataka Power Transmission Control Limited (KPTCL)

Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited (KPTCL) is a power distribution and transportation company in Karnataka state established in the year of 1999 under the company act 1956. Now it is one of the big government sector company owned by government of Karnataka with 1000 cores of share capital. Karnataka Electric Board (KEB) is the parent body of KPTCL, until 2002 KEB did all the functions such as distribution and transmission of electric power throughout the state. After that it was divided in to distribution and Transmission Company called KPTCL and power generating company known as Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL). The ultimate goal of KPTCL is to provide uninterrupted power supply to all customers in state of Karnataka with minimum distribution and transmission cost and lowest unit price. KPTCL purchases power from KPCL for fixed rate under the Karnataka regulation act. KPCL contains several power generation projects which include different types such as hydraulic power, thermal power, wind power, etc. KPTCL also purchases power from power stations such as National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and Atomic power stations like Kalpakkam and Kaiga which is owned by central government. Power generation is not a big deal for any state government but real challenge is to transmission of uninterrupted power and distribution of power to different parts of the state using power grid. So there should be proper data analysis in the entire grid and all transmission station throughout the state in order to identify the loop holes, actual capacity, requirement, request from consumers, and also to identify any damages. The ultimate solution for all this is introduction of smart grid concept in power grid. In this paper I reviewed about operational and technical structure of the KPTCL and factors to be considered while performing data analytics in power grid and adoption of smart grid concept over traditional grid using SCADA technology to perform data analytics and finally listed out some improvements in overall functioning of KPTCL after implementation of smart grid.

SMART GRID TECHNOLOGY, TRANSMISSION OF ELECTRICAL ENERGY IN POWER SUPPLY AND LIGHTING SYSTEMS OF CITIES

Modern power supply and lighting systems of cities are complex electrical systems of an automated type, in which the processes in individual power supply systems and city lighting systems are interconnected and interdependent. Therefore, the search for efficient technologies for the transmission of electrical energy in them is an extremely difficult task. The real state of the power supply and lighting systems in cities today is characterized by low operating efficiency, largely due to the low quality of electrical energy and insufficient compensation of reactive power in them. The mutual influence of power supply and lighting systems in cities, as well as the presence of significant voltage deviations and the overflow of additional reactive power in the networks, causes an increase in voltage and power losses in them, as well as a decrease in the efficiency of networks and connected consumers, in general. Unfortunately, the existing methods and technical means based on them cannot fully solve this problem. The research carried out made it possible to clarify the nature of the processes in the power supply systems and the sanitation of cities and to determine the methods and technical means based on the Smart Grid concept. They are based on the use of phase-shifting booster transformers with an electronic control system. Their use made it possible to provide the possibility of complex control of the voltage modes of active and reactive power with the possibility of installation at any point in the network and centralized control from a single centre. The calculations show that the use of the developed methods and technical means provides an opportunity to reduce power losses in networks by 10–15% and energy costs for consumers by 50–75%.

Implementation of Smart Grid concept for construction of electricity accounting system

The article considers the methodology of building an automated system of commercial electricity metering (ASKOE), which is designed to reliably determine the volume of own electricity consumption, as well as to control electricity flows of the energy supply company with related entities of the Wholesale Electricity Market. ASKOE software and hardware form two levels, which include the lower level, which includes the level of metering points and the level of electricity metering facilities, as well as the upper level, which includes the level of the central point and the level of automated workplaces ASKOE. In this paper, the implementation of the Smart Grid concept is shown on the principles of building an automated system of commercial metering of electricity supply company (ASKOE), which was created as an information and measurement system, the main purpose of which is to reliably determine the volume and automated metering electricity of the company with the subjects of the energy market - the results of which should be used to make appropriate financial calculations for the consumed electricity of the Company. ASKOE is based on the use of the latest technologies that allow the Company to respond effectively to any requirements of the energy market. The concept of remote reading of meter readings is considered in the work - advanced technologies that provide the possibility of remote reading of data accumulated by Smart Meter (literally "Smart Meter"). Such meters allow not only to measure and account for electricity, but also to calculate the parameters of power consumption modes, store the calculated values of parameters in non-volatile memory - primary database (PBD), as well as provide access to PBD through digital communication interfaces. Thanks to the use of multifunctional electronic meters, the measured electricity can be distributed over time intervals: day intervals, tariff zones, days, months or years.

A Comparative Study of Signal Analysis Methods Applied in the Detection of Instantaneous Frequency

The smart grid concept is being applied more and more frequently and this is due to the need to integrate all the components that are part of power systems today, starting from generation units, storage systems, communications and connected loads. Non-linear and non-stationary signals have been obtained in this type of systems, which have high penetration of non-conventional energy sources (NCSRE) and non-linear loads. The power quality criterion has had to be adapted to the new conditions of the electrical systems and this has led to the need to search for new analysis methodologies for the acquired signals. In this article we present a review on non-linear and non-stationary signal analysis methods in electrical systems with high NCSRE penetration. To this end we explore the application of the Hilbert-Huang Transform (HHT), Wavelet Transform (WT) and Wigner-Ville Distribution (WVD), exposing each of the advantages and disadvantages of these methods. To validate the methodology, we have selected some synthetic signals that adequately describe the typical behaviors in these systems.

РОЗПОДІЛЕНА ГЕНЕРАЦІЯ ТА SMART GRID

The articles analyze the problems of building electric power systems of the future on the basis of Smart Grid concepts and taking into account the introduction of electrical installations of distributed energy resources. The problems of introduction of certain technologies into the Unified Energy System of Ukraine are considered and the ways of their solution are offered.

Rating consumers participation in demand response programs according to previous events

The energy sector, as many, is being adapted to meet environmental concerns and avoid fossil fuels. So, Smart Grids concept is promoted, penetrating Distributed Generation into the grid, namely renewable-based energy, providing an environmentally friendly alternative. Also, the consumers’ role is empowered through Demand Response (DR). The consumers are incentivized to actively modify their consumption behavior receiving the proper remuneration. With this, the power system will decrease operation costs and DR can be used as an alternative to generation. However, manage these new and active resources as well as their transactions in the energy market is a complex task due to the uncertainty associated. Many factors can cause a non-response and the Aggregator must be able to manage these situations mainly when a certain target of reduction is required from the wholesale market. The authors proposed an approach including a Trustworthy Rank to select consumers for on DR events: consumers participate considering their reliability. In the present paper, the effects of the approach will be compared between two seasons, proving the viability on giving the correct information to the community manager and understanding how variable is the behavior of this rank at different times of the year.

Integrated arrangement of advanced power electronics through hybrid smart grid system

As an enabler component for renewable energy integration, power electronics (PE) technology in smart grid system is one of the most important issues of development the electrification, decentralization and information-technology/operation-technology (IT/OT) digitization within the electrical energy transmission and distribution systems. The arrangement of PE may different along the feeder either for grid-connected photovoltaic (PV), wind turbine, fuel cells, wave energy system and battery storage unit, respectively.This is due to the electric voltage that might need to be converted from alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC) and vice versa. For that reason, this paper proposed a concept of advanced PE as an integrated arrangement of several AC/DC/AC-and DC/AC- converters in such ways that support thepreviously mentioned grid-connected hybrid renewable energy sources and distributed generators (DGs) along the distribution feeder. Additionally, for the system that supported by battery storage unit, then this hybrid smart grid concept might become the answer for future utility needs.

FEATURES OF USING REMOTE CONTROL SWITCHING DEVICES IN THE PROCESS OF FORMING ACTIVE DISTRIBUTION NETWORKS

Widespread introduction of sources of distributed generation in 6-10 kV networks leads to the need to use new technical means and develop an appropriate methodology for controlling regimes. At the same time, the formation of active distribution networks, as a stage of implementation of the Smart Grid concept, envisages, along with their automation, the provision of adequate information monitoring of electricity transmission and distribution processes. Only under these conditions there is a possibility of the decision of many problems of management of operating modes of distribution networks with necessary level of efficiency. Based on this, in this paper the problem of choosing the optimal configuration of the distribution network is considered as a task of operational management. To make economically justified decisions to change the topology of the distribution network, the article developed a new model for predicting the electrical load and output power of distributed generation sources. The peculiarity of this model is its adaptability and the ability to simultaneously predict the values of the relevant parameters of the mode during predetermined time intervals.

Efficient Gear Ratio Selection of a Single-Speed Drivetrain for Improved Electric Vehicle Energy Consumption

The electric vehicle (EV) market has grown over the last few years and even though electric vehicles do not currently possess a high market segment, it is projected that they will do so by 2030. Currently, the electric vehicle industry is looking to resolve the issue of vehicle range, using higher battery capacities and fast charging. Energy consumption is a key issue which heavily effects charging frequency and infrastructure and, therefore, the widespread use of EVs. Although several factors that influence energy consumption of EVs have been identified, a key technology that can make electric vehicles more energy efficient is drivetrain design and development. Based on electric motors’ high torque capabilities, single-speed transmissions are preferred on many light and urban vehicles. In the context of this paper, a prototype electric vehicle is used as a test bed to evaluate energy consumption related to different gear ratio usage on single-speed transmission. For this purpose, real-time data are recorded from experimental road tests and a dynamic model of the vehicle is created and fine-tuned using dedicated software. Dynamic simulations are performed to compare and evaluate different gear ratio set-ups, providing valuable insights into their effect on energy consumption. The correlation of experimental and simulation data is used for the validation of the dynamic model and the evaluation of the results towards the selection of the optimal gear ratio. Based on the aforementioned data, we provide useful information from numerous experimental and simulation results that can be used to evaluate gear ratio effects on electric vehicles’ energy consumption and, at the same time, help to formulate evolving concepts of smart grid and EV integration.

An access control and authorization model with Open stack cloud for Smart Grid

In compare to Authentication for identification and relationship of an identity of a user with its task and process within the system, authorization in access control is much anxious about confirming that user and its task in the form of system process, access to the assets of any particular domain is only approved when proven obedient to the identified policies. Access control and authorization is always an area of interest for researchers for enhancing security of critical assets from many decades. Our prime focus and interest is in the field of access control model based on Attribute base access control (ABAC) and with this paper we tried to integrate ABAC with openstack cloud for achieving finer level of granularity in access policies for domain like smart grid. Technical advancement of current era demands that critical infrastructure like traditional electrical grid open ups to the modern information and communication technology to get the benefit in terms of efficiency, scalability, accessibility and transparency for better adaptability in real world. Incorporation of ICT with electric grid makes it possible to do greater level of bi-directional interaction among stake holders like customer, generation units, distribution units and administrations and these leads international organization to contribute for standardization of smart grid concepts and technology so that the realization of smart grid becomes reality. Smart grid is a distributed system of very large scale by its nature and needs to integrate available legacy systems with its own security requirements. Cloud computing proven to be most efficient approach for said requirements and we have identified openstack as our cloud platform. We have integrated ABAC approach with default RBAC approach of openstack and provide a frame work that supports and integrate multiple access control polices in making authorization decisions. Smart grid domain in considered as case study which requires support of multiple access policies (RBAC, ABAC or DAC etc) with our model for access control and authorization.

Reducing Environmental Impacts through a Smart Design of Microgrids: Life Cycle Assessment for AC and DC

Microgrids with integrated renewable energies show promising potentials in terms of reliable, efficient, and clean smart grid concepts. Further improvements are expected when such a microgrid is operated on a direct current instead of an alternating one. Our study aims to systemically analyze the environmental impacts of microgrids operating on ac and on dc using power distribution within office buildings as an example. For this purpose, a comparative and scalable life cycle assessment is conducted based on a technical bottom up analysis of differences between ac and dc microgrids. Particularly, our approach combines the assessment of required power electronic components on a micro-level using a generic grid model on a macro-level. The results indicate that the environmental impacts of employed power electronics can be substantially reduced when utilizing a microgrid operating on dc instead of ac.

Transactive Energy Market Mechanism With Loss Implication

Electric distribution network is undergoing fundamental transition from conventional top-down structure to an environment where local prosumers, as transactive agents, are able to form peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trades among themselves. One of the challenges in such networks is allocating the incurred losses to the peers of the transactive market through a transparent and fair framework. In this article, it is demonstrated that the existing methods of loss allocation may cause a cross-subsidization problem when it comes to transactive energy systems, and a solution is offered to the problem. Furthermore, a novel transactive market mechanism is proposed which deploys the loss allocated to each transaction as a criterion to match the peers of the market for energy trading. It will be shown that the presented mechanism will help in diminishing the cross-subsidization problem. More importantly, our method will encourage the agents of the transactive market to trade energy with others located at a shorter distance, rather than farther ones in the network. This is indeed a salient goal of the smart grid concept and will give rise to prominent technical and administrative benefits regarding the transactive energy market and its players.

Self-Assessment of Health Conditions of Electrical Assets and Grid Components: A Contribution to Smart Grids

Broadening the concept of smart grid to include bi-directional interactions between grid and asset electrical components as regards their health conditions would help optimizing maintenance and operation actions from asset/grid management side. However, as long as data processing from diagnostic tools requires long and costly expert time, there is no real chance that the knowledge and technology developed in the field of condition monitoring can become broadly available for grid smart management. This article presents algorithms able to automate the acquisition of health information from electrical asset components. Referring to partial discharges, which are associated with the most harmful insulation aging factor, an innovative technique able to reject noise and thus make automatic partial discharge recognition possible, is proposed and its validity assessed. The information from partial discharge measurement, and other diagnostic quantity monitored is translated into a simple and straightforward indication of component health. This assessment can be automatic, dynamic and continuously updating during operation, thus making feasible an effective time-based condition maintenance approach. The outcome of the proposed approach is to contribute keeping asset reliability at a specified level, minimizing disastrous outages and increasing the return of investment. This benefits also optimal electrical component operation and power flow.

Reconfiguration and Optimal Micro-Phasor Unit Placement in a Distribution System Using Taguchi-Binary Particle Swarm Optimization

The concepts of smart grid and microgrid require new monitoring systems to support automation functionalities in control centers at electrical distribution system (EDS) level. The availability of micro-PMUs ( $$\upmu $$ PMUs) nowadays equips the control centers with the necessary information, which improves the accuracy of distribution system state estimation, for its various applications. Further, a non-configured EDS involves a significant amount of active power losses that causes additional costs to utilities. The work presented in this paper introduces a generalized, two-stage robust methodology for optimal $$\upmu $$ PMU placement considering reconfiguration of the EDS. This hybrid method combines the Taguchi method and upgraded version of binary particle swarm optimization (BPSO) that ultimately provides fast and accurate global optimum. The Taguchi method engenders a more diversified population, which eventually evades premature convergence, and consequently, it makes BPSO more robust. The proposed methodology provides optimal solution for any radial distribution system. Here, for illustration, results obtained for standard IEEE-33 nodes feeder system have been given to demonstrate the behavior and viability of the referred methodology. Various case studies under complex conditions along with the comparative analysis with the existing methods have been carried out to corroborate the superiority and versatility of the proposed methodology.

Simulation-Based Evaluation of the Performance of Broadband over Power Lines with Multiple Repeaters in Linear Topology of Distribution Substations

Broadband over Power Lines (BPL) is considered a promising communication technology in the concept of Smart Grids. This paper evaluates networks based on BPL, with a focus on the impact of repeaters in the linear topology of distribution substations. In large-scale Smart Grids network planning, positions of repeaters have to be carefully chosen. This article should help to determine such positions and limitations of BPL linear topology networks. Laboratory and on-field measurements and their results are presented in this article. Results show the impact of repeater’s deployment for different testing methodologies also with regard to other already presented studies. Measured values and the determined impacts of repeaters are later used as input data for simulation of the linear BPL topology in terms of network throughput with multiple streams and bottlenecks. These occur especially on lines shared by multiple communicating nodes. Furthermore, the simulation investigates the balancing time of multiple data streams throughput. The simulation shows that the throughput balancing can occupy a significant time slot, up to tens of seconds before the throughput of different streams balances. Also, the more data is generated, the more time the balancing time takes. Additionally, the throughput drop caused by a repeater is determined into the range of 35–60%. Based on the measurement and simulation results, lessons learned are presented, and possible performance improvements are discussed.

Electric end-user consumer profit maximization: An online approach

The fast growth of communication technology within the concept of smart grids can provide data and control signals from/to all consumers in an online fashion. This could foster more participation for end-user customers. These types of customers do not necessarily have powerful prediction tools or capability of storing a large amount of historical data. Besides, the relevant information is not always known a priori, while decisions need to be made fast within a very limited time. These limitations and also the novel structure of decision making, which comes from the necessities to make the decision very fast with a limited amount of information, implies a requirement for investigating a novel framework: online decision-making.In this study, we propose an online constrained convex optimization framework for operating responsive end-user electrical customers in real-time. Within this online-decision-making framework, algorithms are proposed for two cases: no prediction data is available at the moment of decision-making, and a limited number of forward time periods predictions of uncertain parameters are available. The simulation results exhibit the capability of the model to achieve considerable profits in an easy-to-implement procedure. Comprehensive numerical test cases are performed for comparison with existent alternative models.

Fog Computing for Realizing Smart Neighborhoods in Smart Grids

Cloud Computing provides on-demand computing services like software, networking, storage, analytics, and intelligence over the Internet (“the cloud”). But it is facing challenges because of the explosion of the Internet of Things (IoT) devices and the volume, variety, veracity and velocity of the data generated by these devices. There is a need for ultra-low latency, reliable service along with security and privacy. Fog Computing is a promising solution to overcome these challenges. The originality, scope and novelty of this paper is the definition and formulation of the problem of smart neighborhoods in context of smart grids. This is achieved through an extensive literature study, firstly on Fog Computing and its foundation technologies, its applications and the literature review of Fog Computing research in various application domains. Thereafter, we introduce smart grid and community MicroGrid concepts and, their challenges to give the in depth background of the problem and hence, formalize the problem. The smart grid, which ensures reliable, secure, and cost-effective power supply to the smart neighborhoods, effectively needs Fog Computing architecture to achieve its purpose. This paper also identifies, without rigorous analysis, potential solutions to address the problem of smart neighborhoods. The challenges in the integration of Fog Computing and smart grids are also discussed.

Optimization of amplitude-frequency characteristic of broadband voltage divider intended for measurement of power quality parameters

The object of research is the circuit diagram of a broadband capacitive-resistive voltage divider with a series-parallel connection of its resistive and capacitive components. For many years, the use of voltage dividers was limited to measuring various voltages in high-voltage laboratories. However, voltage dividers, compared to voltage transformers, are characterized by a wider bandwidth, therefore they began to be considered as one of the main means of measuring voltages in high-voltage electric networks. One of the catalysts for the implementation of this solution may be the intensive development of the Smart Grid concept, which requires new, more advanced means of monitoring the quality of electric power. Therefore, experimental and theoretical studies aimed at reducing the error of broadband voltage dividers are important.The task of optimally adjusting the low voltage arm of the voltage divider is solved by using linear programming elements to study the systematic error function.This article presents the results of the study of adjusting the amplitude-frequency characteristics of the voltage divider, which are aimed at reducing its error. For this purpose, a parameter for optimizing the capacitance value of low-voltage arm at which the absolute value of the positive and negative maximum of the systematic error of the capacitive-resistive voltage divider will be the same was found. The calculations are performed for different values of the division ratio of the voltage divider. The resulting data sets are generalized in the form of three-dimensional graphs.The work contributes to the further development of the theory of high-voltage voltage dividers. As a result of the studies, the possibility of optimizing the amplitude-frequency characteristics of a broadband capacitive-resistive voltage divider by varying the capacitance value of its low-voltage arm is shown. The studies are relevant due to the fact that this category of high-voltage scale transducers has the potential to become mandatory for determining the quality of electric energy directly in high-voltage networks.

Multi-verse optimization algorithm- and salp swarm optimization algorithm-based optimization of multilevel inverters

Renewable energy sources are installed into both distribution and transmission grids more and more with the introduction of smart grid concept. Hence, efficient usage of cascaded H-bridge multilevel inverters (MLIs) for power control applications becomes vital for sustainable electricity. Conventionally, selective harmonic elimination equations need to be solved for obtaining optimum switching angles of MLIs. The objective of this study is to obtain switching angles for MLIs to minimize total harmonic distortion. This study contributes to the solution of this problem by utilizing two recently developed intelligent optimization algorithms: multi-verse optimization algorithm and salp swarm algorithm. Moreover, well-known particle swarm optimization is utilized for MLI optimization problem. Seven-level, 11-level and 15-level MLIs are used to minimize total harmonic distortions. Simulation results with different modulation indexes for seven-, 11- and 15-level MLIs are calculated and compared in terms of the accuracy and solution quality. Numerical calculations are verified by using MATLAB/Simulink-based models.

The Vital Contribution of MagLev Vehicles for the Mobility in Smart Cities

The role of transport in sustainable development was first recognized at the 1992 United Nations (UN) Earth Summit and reinforced in its outcome document—Agenda 21. It is also part of objective 11 of UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The improvements in the traditional methods of transportation lag behind the necessities. This paper shows that Magnetic Levitation (MagLev) can fulfill the demand and fits with smart grid concepts. Moreover, the levitation method based on the diamagnetic property of high-temperature superconductors in the proximity of rare-earth permanent magnets presents advantages in comparison with other levitation methods. This technological solution was tested with the operation of a real scale prototype inside the campus of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), operating since 2014. The paper presents a historical and technological overview of the steps necessary to turn this prototype into a commercial product. The development is framed within NASA’s Technological Readiness Levels (TRL). A new transportation paradigm is on the verge of becoming a reality.