Planning large-scale distribution networks for robust expansion under deregulation

Deregulation is changing the distribution planning practice. The independent generation access to the distribution network introduces a new important source of uncertainty into planning. The paper addresses the problem of planning large-scale distribution networks for operation under generation uncertainty. The planning problem is formulated as a stochastic decision problem. For radial distribution networks the power-flow is monotonic with the generation profile. This monotonicity property is applied to convert the stochastic problem formulation into a two-scenario under uncertainty formulation. The two-scenario problem is then proposed to be solved throughout an evolutionary hedging process. A new evolutionary algorithm is presented. The algorithm is designed to solve multiple-scenario problems by providing the optimal set of investments together with first-order information on each of the decisions' robustness. An application example is presented to illustrate the algorithm. Robustness is discussed in the context of the distribution deregulation.