DSO–TSO Coordination of Day-Ahead Operation Planning with the Use of Distributed Energy Resources

Abstract

Growing penetration of uncoordinated Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) in distribution systems is contributing to the increase of the load variability to be covered at the transmission system level. Forced, fast and substantial changes of power plants’ output powers increase the risk of their failures, which threatens the reliable and safe delivery of electricity to end users in the power system. The paper handles this issue with the use of DERs and proposes a bilevel coordination concept of day-ahead operation planning with new kind of bids to be submitted by Distribution System Operators (DSOs) to the Transmission System Operator (TSO). This concept includes the extension of the Unit Commitment problem solved by TSO and a new optimization model to be solved by DSO for planning a smoothed power profile at the Transmission–Distribution (T–D) interface. Both optimization models are described in the paper. As simulations show, the modified 24-h power profiles at T–D interfaces result in a reduction of the demand for operation flexibility at the transmission system level and, importantly, result in a decrease of the number of conventional power plants that are required to operate during a day. Additionally, it has been proved that the modified profiles reduce the congestions in the transmission network. Hence, the concept presented in the paper can be identified as an important step towards the transformation of power systems to low-emission and reliable systems with high share of DERs.