Distributed voltage control for active distribution networks based on distribution phasor measurement units

Highlights: • A distributed network loss optimization approach is present to increase energy utilization. • A fully distributed voltage control method is proposed. • A topology simplification method with DPMU data at controllable DGs/loads is proposed. • The coordinated control system is based on incomplete measurements. This paper explores a distributed coordinated control algorithm for active distribution networks (ADNs) based on measurements of distribution phasor measurement units (DPMUs) that are only installed at a portion of network nodes. First of all, a network topology simplification method is proposed to deal with the lack of impedance and power information in ADNs. Specifically, sub-networks with unknown impedance and power information are transformed to simplified networks with known equivalent parameters that are derived from the measurements of DPMUs at the sub-network boundaries. After that, a fully distributed control strategy utilizing a multiple agent system (MAS) is employed to control voltage during voltage excursions in ADNs, and to optimize network losses if no voltage excursions occur. MAS achieves global voltage control through distributed decision-making according to the voltage-power sensitivities that are calculated by each agent based on local and neighbourhood measurements. MAS balances reactive power locally to reduce network active power losses. The convergence of the proposed distributed voltage control method is proved. Finally, the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method has been demonstrated on a modified IEEE 33-bus system.