Active Electric Distribution Network: Applications, Challenges, and Opportunities

Traditional electrical power grids are transitioning from centralised operation with unidirectional energy and information flows (from the generation domain to customers) to smart grids with decentralised mode of operation and bidirectional flows. This reversal of traditional power flow direction is due to the connections of active loads such as distributed energy resources (DERs) and renewable energy sources close to the distribution network. Through advanced and sophisticated information and communication technologies (ICTs), efficient DER management and various applications for reliable and secure power delivery are enabled. However, before the adoption of any ICT solution in the grid, several challenges remain, which include interoperability, security and privacy concerns, and the ever-increasing demands to support various services and applications. Although the information within the grid is becoming more visible because of bidirectional communication flow, this only applies to transmission networks and not active distribution networks, which house numerous smart grid applications. There is also little research that supports the automatic operation of active distribution networks. Hence, this article explores and reviews active distribution network communication technologies, as well as the applications and communication standards. This review paper also highlights issues and challenges with active distribution networks and opportunities and research trends in the distribution domain from an ICT perspective.