Coordinated Real-Time Voltage Control in Active Distribution Networks: An Incentive-Based Fairness Approach

This paper proposes a three-stage incentive-based fair voltage control strategy to mitigate fast voltage violations in distribution networks while ensuring the benefits of both distribution system operators (DSO) and photovoltaics (PV) customers. In the first stage, optimal power flow (OPF) is formulated as a mixed-integer second-order cone programming (MISOCP) and performed in the central controller (CC) to obtain day-ahead dispatch of on-load tap changers (OLTC) and capacitor banks (CBs) based on forecasting data of PV and load. In the second stage, two voltage control modes namely optimal voltage control mode (OVM) and fair voltage control mode (FVM) are first formulated. The incentive-based mode selection method is then developed to make a decision by comparing the total benefits in each mode. In the third stage, a multi-dimensional adaptive local voltage control strategy is proposed to sequentially regulate reactive power output and active power curtailment of PVs in real time. The control curve is designed with an adaptive voltage dead band to activate voltage regulation in time. The multi-dimensional characteristics also help track the optimal operating points with varying PV and load to further reduce network power losses. Moreover, the fairness is guaranteed by providing economic compensation for each PV from the DSO, which is estimated in the second stage and corrected in the third stage. The proposed approach is tested on the IEEE 33-bus distribution system and simulation results verify the effectiveness both in addressing voltage problems and ensuring the fairness of PVs in economic benefits.