Towards self-healing in distribution networks operation: Bipartite graph modelling for automated switching

The concept of self-healing has been recently introduced in power systems. The general self-healing framework is complex and includes several aspects of networks’ operation. This paper deals with automated switching in the context of autonomous operation of distribution networks. The paper presents a new network data model that allows effective reconfiguration algorithms to be designed. The model is based on bipartite graph representation of switching possibilities. The model properties and capabilities are illustrated for simple self-healing algorithms and a small real world medium voltage distribution network.