A Response-Function-Based Coordination Method for Transmission-Distribution-Coupled AC OPF

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel response-function-based coordination method for transmission-distribution coupled AC optimal power flow, enabling efficient and nearly optimal solutions with minimal iterations, even when TSO and DSO objectives differ.

Contribution

It proposes a new response-function approach for TDOPF that reduces computational cost and requires fewer iterations compared to traditional decomposition methods.

Findings

Requires only one or two iterations for convergence.

Reduces computational costs significantly.

Works effectively even with differing TSO and DSO objectives.

Abstract

With distributed generation highly integrated into the grid, the transmission-distribution-coupled AC OPF (TDOPF) becomes increasingly important. This paper proposes a response-function-based coordination method to solve the TDOPF. Different from typical decomposition methods, this method employs approximate response functions of the power injections with respect to the bus voltage magnitude in the transmission-distribution (T-D) interface to reflect the "reaction" of the distribution to the transmission system control. By using the response functions, only one or two iterations between the transmission system operator (TSO) and the distribution system operator(s) (DSO(s)) are required to attain a nearly optimal TDOPF solution. Numerical tests confirm that, relative to a typical decomposition method, the proposed method does not only enjoy a cheaper computational cost but is workable even when the objectives of the TSO and the DSO(s) are in distinct scales.