Smart Grid and Grid-Connected Systems

Part1: The Basic of Smart Grid and Grid-Connected

Systems
Chapter 5: Active Network Management

prepared by Dr. Adib Allahham , Newcastle University, Newcastle, UK, January 2020
 Smart Grid and Grid-Connected Systems
Part1: The Basic of Smart Grid and Grid-Connected
Systems

Chapter 5: Active Network Management

prepared by Dr. Adib Allahham , Newcastle University, Newcastle, UK, January 2020

Please cite as:

Adib Allahham (2019): Smart Grid and Grid-Connected Systems. Teaching materials as part of the EU-funded project “Advanced
Teaching and training on Smart grid & Grid Integration of Renewable Energy Systems (AT-SGIRES)”, Newcastle University, Newcastle,
UK.

"The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the
authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein."
 Outline
 Introduction
 Drivers for Active Network Management (ANM)
 Impacts of distributed generation on distribution/transmission
 Network protection
 Planning of active network management
 Network reconfiguration
 Active control management
 Protection system
 Decentralized automatic control system
 Centralized area control level
 Automation Systems
 Introduction
 The principle of Active network management (ANM) is to:
 Address congestion and voltage issues via short-term decision-making policies
 Operate the distribution network with increasing share of renewables in a
secure, reliable, and cost-effective way without relying on network
reinforcement.
 ANM refers to short term strategies that control the power injected by generators or
taken off the grid by loads in order to avoid congestion or voltage issues.

 Simple active network management strategies involve curtailing of excess

generation while advanced strategies involve moving the loads to periods of
anticipated high generation.
 Introduction
 ANM acts as the ‘supervisor’ of the smart devices and generator controllers – and
smart commercial arrangements in order to improve the economic and technical
efficiency of distributed generators (DGs) integration by monitoring the network in
real-time by relying on curtailment of DGs when grid constraints are approached [1].
 ANM can help to transform the distribution grid from passive to active by:
 enabling the coordinated control of the distributed generators (DGs), load,
energy storage, and
 remote-controlled switches like On Load Tap Changers (OLTC) and Automatic
Voltage Regulator (AVR).
 ANM is achieved by monitoring various constraints and managing generator output
in real-time.
 Drivers for ANM
 The drivers of electricity market transition:
 Decentralization,
 Digitization, and
 Decarbonisation.
 This market’s transition will necessitate the creation of new power delivery solutions.
 Some of the reasons for creating these new solutions are :
 Penetration of distributed generation based on renewable power sources to
achieve the targets required for decarbonisation.
 Efficient use of energy at the customer level and intelligent demand response to
offer flexibility in the power system.
 Maximizing the utilization of the existing equipment in the network.
 Drivers for ANM
 In the UK, the Office of Gas and Electricity Market (OFGEM) adopts a pricings model
RIIO (Revenue=Incentives + Innovation + Outputs) with the aim of minimizing the
customer bill.

Application of Smart Grid concepts like ANM, Dynamic Line Rating (DLR),
and Real-time Thermal Rating (RTTR) become necessary [2].

 Use of market mechanisms make the use of the existing network and energy resources
more efficient and postpone the network reinforcement, and the function of demand
side response functions become more achievable
 Impact of DG on Distribution/Transmission Network

 The integration of DGs to the grid can produce both positive and negative impacts.
 Positive effects are:
 Losses reduction
 Voltage support and improved power quality
 Impact of DG on Distribution/Transmission Network

 Losses reduction
A power loss (estimated by Watts per phase) can be given by:

𝑅 𝑃2 + 𝑄2
𝑃𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑠 =
𝑉2

 Power loss can be reduced by:

- Minimizing the line reactive power flow;
- Using the DGs which will supply part of the demand locally.
 The impact if DG is not always beneficial,
 Example: In a large wind farm situated at a remote location and connected to the
network via a long transmission line, both active and reactive power flows will
increase increasing network currents and system losses.
Impact of DG on Distribution/Transmission Network

 Voltage issues
1. Negative impacts of DGs
 DGs causes voltage rise at the coupling points with the distribution/transmission
networks.
 Methods for countering network voltage rise are:
• Reducing primary substation voltage;
• Generator voltage control (Operating the generator at leading power factor);
• Use of additional buck/boost transformer.
 Negative impacts of the DGs include the islanding and the reverse power flow.
Impact of DG on Distribution/Transmission Network
2. Positive impacts of DGs
 Positive impacts of DGs on the distribution and transmission networks are:
• Transmission and distribution capacity release;
• Improved utility system reliability;
• Deferment of new or upgraded transmission and distribution infrastructure;
• Lower costs by avoiding long-distance high voltage transmission lines;
• Carbon reduction in the energy mix by using environmentally friendly renewable
sources.
• Reducing power loss: DGs normally supply power close to the point of demand
hence help reduce power loss that is attributed to the long transmission and
distribution lines.
 Network Protection
 The inclusion of DGs in the network affects the sensitivity and selectivity of typical
network protection.
 Protection systems designed for unidirectional power flow may be rendered
insignificant.
 Due to the presence of DGs, some faults may be detected with significant delays or, in
worst cases, some faults not being detected altogether.
 Unnecessary relay operation is possible at the feeder relay or the DG connection point.
 Detecting unintended islanding condition is challenging.
 DGs may also disturb the automatic re-closing.
 The presence of DGs could render the existing method used in fault location
inappropriate.
 Network Protection
 There is a need for a special protection planning in the networks with DGs.
 Minimum protection settings usually appropriate to small generating plants are
recommended in ER G59 [3].
 Network Protection

 DNO requires the protection of a DG must achieve the following objectives:

• To inhibit connection to the DNO supply unless all phases of the supply are
energized and operating within the agreed protection settings.
• To disconnect the generator when the system voltage or frequency at the point of
supply deviates from acceptable levels.
• To disconnect the generator in the event of loss of one or more phases of the DNO
supply to the installation.
• To ensure automatic disconnection of the generator, or the operation of an alarm
with audible and visual indication, in the event of loss of any of the supplies to the
protective equipment [3].
 Network Protection

• To achieve the above objectives, generator protection must include the detection of:
• Over Voltage,
• Under Voltage,
• Over Frequency,
• Under Frequency,
• Loss of Mains
 Network Reconfiguration
Distribution systems are divided into subsystems of radial feeders which
contain several normally closed switches and several normally-open switches

Substation to substation connection

 Network Reconfiguration

 Reconfiguration problem is to find a radial operating structure that minimizes the

system power loss while satisfying operating constraints, under normal operating
condition.
 Network Reconfiguration

 Reasons for network configuration:

 Altering topology and restoring supply or isolating faults: transfer of loads between
feeders for balancing loads and relieving of overloaded feeders and therefore
increasing the reliability of the network.
 Reducing the power loss and the loss of revenue for the DNO: The DNOs are
penalized if the active power losses are higher than standard ones. If the case is
reversed, DNOs obtain a profit.
 Continuing the energy supply during the period of maintenance and faults. If the
power equipment in the distribution and transmission network undergo
maintenance and upgrade to facilitate secure network operations.
 Active Control Management
 Active control is made out of the three equally important stages [4]:
 Active unit,
 active cell,
 active network.
 The active unit controls a local device that is based on the local measurement.
This could be implemented by a Remote Terminal Unit (RTU) or a device capable
of standard SCADA communication that would be programmed to carry out local
control.
 Multiple active units make up an active cell.
 An active network is formed by a group of active cells.
 Active Control Management

 The logic of the active network may be formed by the coordinated management
of active devices [4].
 The management is based on SCADA/DMS substation and feeder automation.
 Distribution networks are controlled at the primary substation but the
monitoring and telemetry of MV network and the LV network is very limited.
 The need for real-time information on the number of DG units and their status is
becoming more important when the penetration level of DG units id increasing
or when a DG has a strong local influence.
 Active Control Management

Overview of active distribution network

 Protection System
 Protection systems can be classified as
 unit protection and
 non-unit protection.
 Non-unit protection is protection whose operation and discrimination are
dependent on the measurement of electrical quantities at one end of the
protected section.
 Overcurrent and distance protection are examples of non-unit protection.
 Non-unit protection can be considered to be relatively selective.
 Relative selectivity is obtained by coordinating the settings of protections that
overlap and could all respond to the same fault.
 Protection System

 To ensure that selectivity is achieved, it could involve the coordination of the

settings of a single parameter (time or current or impedance, etc.) or the
coordination of the settings of a mixture of two parameters.
 Unit protection is protection whose operation and discrimination are dependent
on the comparison of electrical quantities at each end of the protected section.

Current entering the protected equipment is compared with current leaving the
protected equipment. If these are not equal, this indicates a fault on the
protected equipment (Kirchhoff’s first law).
 Protection System
 Unit protection represents an example of absolute selective protection as it
responds only to faults inside its protection zone.
 Current differential protection is an example of unit protection.
 Decentralised Automatic Control System
1. Frequency Control
 Frequency control consists of primary and secondary control.
 The power plants that participate in the primary control have to be equipped
with turbine governors with automatic frequency controllers. If a deviation in
the power balance of the system is to take place, the rotational masses of the
participating generators absorb or release kinetic energy which results in a
change in the system frequency.
 Decentralised Automatic Control System
 After the primary control has compensated for this power unbalance, there will
still be a small deviation in the system frequency. If this deviation is large
enough, secondary control reserves are activated, which will bring the
frequency back closer to its nominal value.

 There will also have to be additional control reserve for contingencies where a
generation unit or an interconnection is suddenly lost.
 Decentralised Automatic Control System
 The size of the required control reserves for disturbances is determined by the
largest generation unit or the interconnection with the largest imported power
flow.

 The protection of the DG units is generally adjusted to trip as soon as voltage or

frequency deviates from normal operation values.
 Decentralised Automatic Control System
2. Voltage Control
 Active voltage control can be divided into two hierarchical levels:
 local voltage control;
 coordinated voltage control.
 Local control is based on local measurements and controllers which regulate
the voltages at their operating points by controlling active resources such as DG
units and reactive power compensators.
 The voltage can also be regulated by controlling loads and, in extreme cases, by
curtailing the DG unit production.
 Decentralised Automatic Control System
 Coordinated voltage control makes its control decisions based on measurement
data concerning the whole network that is under its supervision.

 Coordinated control may regulate the network voltage solely by controlling the
on-load tap changer (OLTC) situated at the substation or by the combination of
all the resources capable of voltage control.

 Communication channels between the network nodes are needed since this
sort of control requires information about the state of the whole system.
 Decentralised Automatic Control System
3. Load Control
 Load control can be utilized to maintain the frequency within acceptable limits.
 Load control involves switching on or off of controllable loads to fill demand
deficits or surplus.
 Voltage fluctuations originating from wind generation can also be compensated
by load switching. This needs better control and communications systems.
 Direct load control based on local frequency measurement may also act as a
frequency reserve.
 Centralised Area Control Level
 The area control level is used to co-ordinate the functioning of individual
devices. This is done by sending new setting values through the Relay setting
tool or SCADA system.

 The coordination of protection and control devices requires measurement data

from the distribution network in order to evaluate the performance of
protection and control.
 Centralised Area Control Level

 The connection of DGs will affect network control in the following manner:
• Need to coordinate the protection relay settings;
• Need to coordinate the voltage control devices.
 Information and automation are the main pillars of ANM. Communication
between the following systems is crucial:
• Control centre systems,
• RTU’s and customer automation which includes AMI’s,
• Energy measurement and load control.
 SCADA system gathers numerous information from various points of the
network for monitoring at the control centre.
 Centralised Area Control Level
 Control Centre information system
 It is the system that gathers and uses the information to evaluate performance.
 The functional components of the information system are SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data
Acquisition), which enables
 real-time acquisition of data on the network.
 gathering information from the network and sends it to the network control center and
control devices at the network.
 There is a communication link between the SCADA and the network components such as RTU’s,
substation automation systems, intelligent electronic devices (IEDs) etc.
 SCADA provides controllability of various network components such as the remote-controlled
switches, capacitor banks and voltage regulators to the network operator.

 In case of a fault, SCADA sends an alarm to the control engineer to perform system restore.
 Centralised Area Control Level

Main components of SCADA system

RTU provides information to the substation components, the communication enables data from
the RTU to be transferred to and from the master station while the station provides an interface
platform to the human operator.
 Centralised Area Control Level

Overview of remote terminal unit (RTU)

Signals from various devices to be supervised and controlled are fed into the RTU, which codes
the signal and passes the information through the communication platform to the master station.
 Centralised Area Control Level
 Distribution Management System (DMS)
 DMS is the real-time, high-level decision support system that is based on real-time SCADA
information.
 DMS is integrated with static network data from Network Information Sytem (NIS), Geographic
Information System (GIS), and Customer Information System (CIS).
 SCADA data needed for DMS are:
• Switching status of disconnectors and circuit breakers.
• Electrical quantities (current, voltage, power etc.) and weather conditions (for example,
temperature).
• Relay information.
• Status of fault detectors
 Centralised Area Control Level
 DMS can be used to:
 configuration optimization,
 planning maintenance outages and
 calculating fault currents that can be used to check relay coordination, if relay coordination
violation comes out; the relay setting can be reconfigured remotely from the control centre.
 In cases of fault, DMS provides tools like fault location algorithms and a proposition of optimal
switching sequence required for supply restoration [5].
 In any DMS, resources which must be controlled are:
 Demand-side voltage
 Demand-side Power factor
 Demand-side peak Demand
 Consumer Demand
 Network losses and reliability
 Centralised Area Control Level
 DMS can be used to:
 configuration optimization,
 planning maintenance outages and
 calculating fault currents that can be used to check relay coordination, if relay coordination
violation comes out; the relay setting can be reconfigured remotely from the control centre.
 Automation Systems
 Automation in the distribution network consists of:
 Substation automation,
 Feeder automation, and
 Customer automation systems.

 Substation automation is considered to consist of protection and control devices (IED),

communication network inside the substation and equipment on the station level to handle
information for the whole station
 Automation Systems
The functions of substation
automation include:
i. Local monitoring and control.
ii. Communication gateway to
interface with other systems like
a network control center.
iii. Automated functions centralized
for the whole station like bus
transfer sequences, interlocking,
and centralized load shedding.

ANM system architecture [6]

 Automation Systems
 Feeder automation is necessary to monitor the fault condition of the feeder.
 The main aim is to isolate the fault and restore the unfaulty part of the network as quickly as
possible in order to reduce the outage costs and satisfy the quality of supply.
 The fault is detected when the protection at the primary substation opens a circuit breaker of the
faulted feeder.
 The control centre operator is responsible for fault location and network restoration in the case of
a permanent fault.
 In a MV-feeder fault situation, the DMS receives information on the faulty feeder from the SCADA
based on the relay and circuit breaker operations. The available data is transferred from the
SCADA to the DMS, which includes a detailed model of the faulty feeder and inferences the
possible fault locations.
 The sequence from the opening of a circuit breaker caused by a fault to the DMS screen
illustrating the possible fault locations is carried out automatically without any operator actions.
 Automation Systems
 Customer Automation
 Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) provides energy consumption data.
 The primary role of AMR has been to provide energy consumption data to the utility for billing
and balance settlement purposes.
 AMR system has also been used for load control in some installations.
 A fault in a LV network is cleared automatically by a blown fuse, but no information about that is
received to the control center. The existence of a LV network fault is usually indicated only by
customer calls. The present AMR meters offer the platform to develop new functions that will be
used to develop network asset management, market enhancement and customer service.
References
[1] UK Power Networks, ‘Flexible Plug and Play: SDRC 9.4 - Technical Solution’, 2013.

[2] A. R. Ahmadi, T. Manandhar, J. Barros, M. Bernardo, and S. Georgiopoulos, ‘UK power networks ’ experience
of managing flexible distributed generation from planning to operation’, vol. 2017, no. June, pp. 2032–2036,
2017.

[3] ENA, ‘Engineering Recommendation G59 Issue 3 Amendment 2 September 2015 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR
THE CONNECTION OF GENERATING PLANT TO THE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS OF LICENSED’, no. 3, 2015.

[4] D. A. Roberts, ‘Network Management systems for active distribution networks - A feasibility study.’

[5] G. El Rahi, S. R. Etesami, W. Saad, S. Member, N. B. Mandayam, and H. V. Poor, ‘Managing Price Uncertainty in
Prosumer-Centric Energy Trading : A Prospect-Theoretic Stackelberg Game Approach’, IEEE Trans. Smart Grid, vol.
10, no. 1, pp. 702–713, 2019

[6] A. N. Management and U. K. P. Networks, ‘Flexible DG connections’, no. July, 2016.

 Thank you very much
for your attention!

Contribution by Newcastle University to the EU-funded project “Advanced Teaching and training on Smart
grid & Grid Integration of Renewable Energy Systems (AT-SGIRES)”

prepared by Dr. Adib Allahham , Newcastle University, Newcastle, UK, January 2020

Please cite as:

Adib Allahham (2019): Smart Grid and Grid-Connected Systems. Teaching materials as part of the EU-funded project “Advanced
Teaching and training on Smart grid & Grid Integration of Renewable Energy Systems (AT-SGIRES)”, Newcastle University, Newcastle,
UK

"The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the
authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein."

44
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