Operation Schemes of Smart Distribution Networks With Distributed Energy Resources for Loss Reduction and Service Restoration

The integration of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) into the future Smart Distribution Network (SDN) has challenging issues regarding the successful development of smart grids. The SDN offers new opportunities in the improvement of the efficiency of power distribution networks. The DERs will be distributed in the existing distribution networks, interconnected in customer areas and operated on its own schedule without communication to the control center of the existing distribution system. The DER units have both positive and negative effects regarding SDN operations. With the appropriate operation of the DER units in the SDN, losses can be reduced during normal operations and they can support local loads during abnormal conditions. Thus, the positive effects of the DER units need to be enabled in the SDN by adopting advanced operation schemes. In this paper, the smart control functions for the DER units in the SDN are defined and classified. In addition, the integration schemes for the SDN with DER units are introduced. The proposed operation strategies will be implemented into the Korean Smart Distribution Management System (KSDMS) as operation schemes used for loss reduction and service restoration. A sample case study shows the effectiveness of the proposed operation schemes to achieve smart operation functions for the SDN with DER units.