Resiliency-oriented islanding of distribution network in the presence of charging stations for electric vehicles

Background Fast Charging Stations (FCSs) for Plug-in Electric Vehicles (PEVs) can affect the performance of distribution networks due to high charging demand of a large number of PEVs. Aims To reduce negative impacts of FCSs, the interactions between transportation and distribution networks must be taken into account in decision-making models. This paper proposes an optimization model to increase the resiliency of the distribution network after occurring severe events considering the availability of FCSs Materials & Methods A new bi-level optimization model is proposed, the lower level of which determines the dynamic charging demand of the in-service FCSs according to the transportation network. At the upper-level problem, the charging demand of the in-service FCSs are considered as electrical loads for the distribution network, and the resiliency-oriented restoration problem determines the optimal boundaries of the islands with the aim of maximizing the recovered loads Results The proposed model is implemented in the 118-bus distribution network coupled with a 21-node transportation network through FCSs Discussion The simulation results show that in general, the presence of FCSs reduces the resiliency of the distribution network. Conclusion However, the proposed model can reduce the negative effects of the FCSs and improve the load restoration of the distribution network while meeting the charging demand of PEVs