A Decentralized Control Strategy for Voltage Regulators and Energy Storage Devices in Active Distribution Systems

Abstract

Centralized optimization methods have been widely used to manage the operation of distribution systems. However, these methods have some limitations, such as the high computational-cost, the reliance on a central server, and the lack of data privacy. To overcome these limitations, decentralized optimization methods have been proposed in recent years. Decentralized methods divide the control variables of the centralized optimization problem over several controllers, and each controller solves its own subproblem independently. This paper presents a multi-objective optimization framework for managing the operation of distribution systems. The primary objective is to optimize the tap positions of voltage regulators (VRs) and locally optimized charging and discharge powers for energy storage devices (ESDs) through a decentralized coordination process. The used objective functions take into account the voltage profile of the network, the lifetime improvement of the VRs/ESDs, and the energy losses in the systems. Two decentralized methods, based on the Advanced Arithmetic Optimizer (AAO) algorithm and the Profile Steering (PS) approach, are proposed to address the limitations of centralized optimization methods. The decentralized methods aim to improve the reliability and efficiency of the optimization process, while also minimizing the communication and computational costs. The proposed methods are evaluated and compared to a centralized approach in the IEEE 33 and 69 bus systems. The results demonstrate that the proposed decentralized methods can effectively resolve voltage problems, minimize energy losses, and find high-quality solutions with improved computational efficiency compared to the centralized approach.

Keywords: Distribution networks, Energy resolution, Electrostatic discharges, Linear programming, Power system planning, Photovoltaic systems, Regulators, Simulation