Optimal Real-Time Coordinated Voltage and Reactive Power Control in Smart Grids

Utilities endeavor is to increase the penetration of DGs in their networks; however, they are under tremendous pressure to keep their cost as low as possible for their customers. In this situation, intelligent network management schemes become vital as a way to optimally utilize network assets to facilitate DG integration with minimal additional costs. In this paper, a coordinated voltage control approach is proposed for Smart Distribution Systems. The proposed scheme depends on real-time coordination between existing voltage regulators and shunt capacitors to better control distribution system voltage in response to DG operation. The proposed method represents a clear example of an intelligent network management scheme that can unlock the under-utilized capabilities of the existing assets of the distribution system in order to enable the integration of more DGs without costly upgrades. To validate the algorithm, a simulation study is presented using CymeDist software package in conjunction with Python programming language.