Utilizing synchronization to partition power networks into microgrids

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel method for partitioning power grids into microgrids by leveraging synchronization dynamics of Kuramoto oscillators, offering a potentially more efficient alternative to traditional optimization techniques.

Contribution

The paper proposes a synchronization-based approach for power grid partitioning, including both centralized and decentralized algorithms, differing from conventional heuristic and optimization methods.

Findings

Synchronization algorithms produce partitions comparable to traditional methods.

Decentralized strategy enables self-organization into microgrids.

Preliminary results indicate convergence towards effective partitions.

Abstract

The problem of partitioning a power grid into a set of microgrids, or islands, is of interest for both the design of future smart grids, and as a last resort to restore power dispatchment in sections of a grid affected by an extreme failure. In the literature this problem is usually solved by turning it into a combinatorial optimization problem, often solved through generic heruristic methods such as Genetic Algorithms or Tabu Search. In this paper, we take a different route and obtain the grid partition by exploiting the synchronization dynamics of a cyberlayer of Kuramoto oscillators, each parameterized as a rough approximation of the dynamics of the grid's node it corresponds to. We present first a centralised algorithm and then a decentralised strategy. In the former, nodes are aggregated based on their internode synchronization times while in the latter they exploit synchronization of the oscillators in the cyber layer to selforganise into islands. Our preliminary results show that the heuristic synchronization based algorithms do converge towards partitions that are comparable to those obtained via other more cumbersome and computationally expensive optimization-based methods.