Voltage profile improvement using demand side management in distribution networks under frequency linked pricing regime

Voltage stability improvement and load profile management remain the major concerns of the power system load serving entities. The evolution in demand side management technology with automatic control enables a large number of appliances including energy storage devices to provide efficient ancillary services for the distribution utilities. In this paper, a novel methodology is developed for residential consumers using battery energy storage systems as a key vehicle for centralized incentive based demand side management. The aim is to employ energy storage at end-users' premises to provide both active and reactive power support to the distribution utility so as to achieve the desired voltage stability margin at various network nodes while optimizing the deviation settlement charges under frequency linked pricing environment. The results indicate that the centrally controlled active and reactive power dispatch from the energy storage minimizes the load shedding required to bring the network node voltages within the operating limits and optimizes the costs involved. The demonstration is carried out on the IEEE-33 bus radial distribution system using the realistic loading data of a distribution utility in India. The proposed strategy could be of immense importance to the distribution utilities to optimize load curtailment and maximize their social welfare while operating under real time pricing environment.