A Three-Phase Power Flow Approach for Integrated 3-Wire MV and 4-Wire Multigrounded LV Networks With Rooftop Solar PV

With increasing level of rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) penetration into low voltage (LV) distribution networks, analysis with realistic network models is necessary for adequate capturing of network behavior. Traditional three-phase 3-wire power flow approach lacks the capability of exact analysis of 4-wire multigrounded LV networks due to the approximation of merging the neutral wire admittance into the phase wire admittances. Such an approximation may not be desirable when neutral wire and grounding effects need to be assessed, especially in the presence of single-phase solar power injection that may cause a significant level of network unbalance. This paper proposes a three-phase power flow approach for distribution networks while preserving the original 3-wire and 4-wire configurations for more accurate estimation of rooftop PV impacts on different phases and neutrals. A three-phase transformer model is developed to interface between the 3-wire medium voltage (MV) and the 4-wire LV networks. Also an integrated network model is developed for an explicit representation of different phases, neutral wires and groundings of a distribution system. A series of power flow calculations have been performed using the proposed approach to investigate the impacts of single-phase variable PV generation on an Australian distribution system and results are presented.