Optimal allocation process of voltage control devices and operational management of the voltage in distribution systems using the experimental design method

This paper presents a new approach to control the voltage in medium voltage (MV) networks by using the Experimental Design method. This method, also referred to as Design of Experiments (DOE), is a powerful tool to establish and study the effects of multiple inputs (factors) on a desired output (response). In this work, the output will be the sum of the absolute values of the deviations between the voltage at each node of the network and the rated voltage. The response should therefore be minimized to ensure the best possible voltage profile along the feeders of the grid. The different studied factors are: on-load tap changer (OLTC) of transformer, curtailment of distributed generation (DG) and reactive power compensation devices. In this study, the DOE is employed for two purposes. Firstly, the parameters which have the most significant impact on the output are selected. Secondly, the values of these parameters are optimised to reduce the voltage variation in the distribution network by using a response surface methodology (RSM) approach. This two-step process is then applied on a 28-bus radial MV network in order to study an overvoltage problem caused by an increased active power generation coming from DG units.