Dynamic reconfiguration of three-phase unbalanced distribution networks

The increasing penetration of distributed generations (DGs) and variable loads introduces significant power fluctuations to distribution networks, rendering conventional reconfiguration strategies ineffective. In the context of an active distribution network (ADN), remote control switches can be operated in real time through a centralized control scheme. Therein the distribution network topology can be configured in a flexible and dynamic manner capable of adapting to time-varying load demand and DG output. This paper presents a dynamic reconfiguration approach for a three-phase unbalanced distribution network. The ADN topology is optimized for the look-ahead time periods and is adaptive to the time-varying load demand and DG output while minimizing the daily power loss costs. To improve the calculation efficiency, several linearization methods are introduced to formulate the dynamic reconfiguration as a mixed-integer linear programming problem, which can be effectively solved using off-the-shelf solvers. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is verified by the test results obtained on a modified IEEE 34 node test feeder.