With increasing photovoltaic (PV) penetration in low voltage networks (LVNs), voltage regulation is a challenge. Active power curtailment (APC) is one possible solution for mitigating over voltages resulting from active power injection in LVNs. There is an inherent unfairness in the APC scheme. When generation is high and consumption is low, the voltages at the end of the feeder tend to be the highest. This results in high curtailment of active power output of the inverters located at the end of the feeder and low or even no curtailment for the inverts located closer to the transformer. A secondary voltage controller has been implemented to mitigate this unfairness in APC based voltage support schemes. The focus of this work is to quantify this unfairness and develop methods that enable residential PV owners serviced by the same feeder to participate equally in voltage regulation in the LVN.@en

Integration of distributed generation in power system challenges operation and management of power distribution network. This paper presents Modified Bat Algorithm for Optimal Reactive Power Dispatch (OPRF) of distributed generation for voltage support in distribution network. An objective function with constraints of voltage, DG reactive power, thermal limits of lines is presented. A modified IEEE 37 node test feeder with variable generation was used to validate the proposed algorithm. A co-simulation setup was used in which electric grid was developed in Power system tool (DigSILENT PowerFactory) and Modified Bat Algorithm was developed in Python. Results showed that Modified Bat Algorithm is quite effective for voltage profile improvement and loss minimization.@en

The ongoing transformation of the traditional power system into a more intelligent Smart Grid has many benefits. However, it also brings numerous challenges. The system is becoming more complex, making the existing domain specific tools less relevant. This paper presents a flexible co-simulation framework that supports multiple simulators, including multiagent platform, for a detailed evaluation of the impact and inter-dependencies between the cyber and physical components of the system. Two case studies have been evaluated with different Smart Grid applications, modeled and simulated with different simulators and coupled into the developed co-simulation framework. The results show the flexibility and useability of the proposed co-simulation framework.@en

The rise in the intermittent power generation from renewables shall increase the secondary frequency reserve requirements in the future power system. Complimenting the support from the generators in providing frequency reserve, the active demand response can result in a cost effective contribution to this resource. Among demand response resources, the thermostatically controlled loads (TCLs) connected to the medium voltage networks poses an interesting potential. This work develops a co-simulation environment for the TCLs based demand side management scheme that can be used to assess the network impacts of using this service. An equivalent battery model with dynamic charging rate limits models the TCL aggregation and tracks a realistic frequency regulation signal. The co-simulation platform is tested for the IEEE 119 node distribution test feeder.@en

PowerFactory is a powerful power system analysis tool used for simulating the electrical grid. 'Smart Grid' envisions a modernized electrical grid that uses communication to gather and act on information. The ever increasing communication and controls in power systems increases the complexity of the system. Co-simulation becomes essential to couple system simulators from different domains. This paper gives an overview of possible PowerFactory / Matlab coupling approaches. It further discusses the advantages and limitations of each of these. Additionally, an alternate coupling approach is suggested, its pros and cons are discussed. Two test cases have been implemented that highlight different advantages of the proposed method.

@en