A fuzzy-based approach for microgrids islanded operation

Power system blackouts harm economic activities and worsen the customers' welfare. Smart grids' self-healing capacity is an important feature for future power systems and it should also include the ability to manage the distributed energy resources to ensure power supply for a longer time. This is required because the duration of a blackout is unknown and bulk power system blackstart is a complex task. The deployment of microgrids can overcome these challenges since they may be operated in an autonomous way. This paper proposes a methodology for microgrid management in islanded conditions aiming to maximize the duration of power supply taking into account the availability of renewable sources and stored energy. In order to accomplish this goal, some management options are considered, such as load shedding, dispatch of expensive fossil fuel sources, and demand response actions. The control actions are determined with the help of a fuzzy logic methodology. The proposed approach is validated with a modified IEEE 34 node sample system.