An MDP-Based Approach for Distribution System Control with PV Generation and Battery Storage

TL;DR

This paper introduces an MDP-based decision-making framework for controlling distribution systems with PV and battery storage, aiming to minimize operational costs while managing DERs and system constraints.

Contribution

It presents a novel MDP-based method for distribution system control that accounts for PV curtailment, battery management, and system flexibility, improving cost efficiency.

Findings

Lower total operational costs compared to deterministic methods.

Effective handling of PV generation variability.

Enhanced system flexibility during unexpected events.

Abstract

This paper proposes a decision-making approach for the control of distribution systems with distributed energy resources (DERs) equipped with photovoltaic (PV) units and battery energy storage systems (BESS). The objective is to minimize the total operational cost of the distribution system while satisfying the system operating constraints. The method is based on the discrete-time finite-horizon Markov Decision Process (MDP) framework. Different aspects of the distribution system operation are considered, such as the possibilities of curtailment of PV generation, managing battery storage, reactive power injection, load shedding, and providing a flexibility service for the transmission system. The model is tested for the IEEE 33-bus system with two added DERs and the study cases involve various unexpected events. The experimental results show that this method enables the attainment of relatively low total cost values compared to the reference deterministic approach. The benefits of applying this approach are particularly evident when there is a significant difference between the predicted and actual PV power generation.