Optimization-based strategies towards a self-healing smart grid

Self-healing is a critical and desirable feature for electric power systems. Following an outage, it is critical to restore system back to a normal operation condition as efficiently as possible. The advanced decision support tools are needed to assist system operators to restore a grid from major outages efficiently and safely and enhance the resilience of a smart grid. In this paper, optimization modules are developed for generation, transmission and distribution system restoration. These developed modules provide an automated and “best adaptive strategy” procedure for power system restoration. The IEEE 39-bus test system is used to validate the proposed strategy. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed optimization-based power system restoration strategy is highly efficient. Future developments are discussed for extensive testing, implementation planning, and actual implementation in a real-time operational environment.