On the use of distributed generation to increase EPS robustness

The article discusses the behavior of the distributed generation (DG) in order to increase the EPS (electric power system) robustness. Special attention is paid to the DG influence during emergency states such as the propagation of cascading failures or other major events. In one hand, a high amount of DG can improve the system response to these disturbances but, on other hand, a massive DG insertion could endanger the system operation. The article proposes a methodology to define the robustness and risk of a system operating point through the evaluation of a robustness index. Furthermore, EPS robustness could be enhanced by new emergency strategies such as intentional islanding operation. This would require new ICT components (information and communication technologies) in order to share and analyze the information and then, elaborate decisions to avoid total blackouts.