Opportunities and challenges in control of smart grids – Pakistani perspective

With the advancement in technologies, the power requirement around the globe is tremendously increasing, putting extra loads on grids. The existing grids cannot bear that load and also do not provide the interface with Distributed Renewable Energy Sources (DRES). Building new lines and substations alone do not serve the purpose of overcoming energy shortfall. Thus a major transformation in electricity infrastructure is need of the hour to meet the ever growing demands of electricity. Converting current power management system to a smart autonomic system is pertinent to achieve an increasing amount of renewable energy generation. This paper presents a comprehensive review of advances in control of smart grids. Various robust and adaptive strategies are spotlighted with a detailed description of control of overloads and power smart grids. Also, power generation, storage and management techniques and development of operational schedule of sources and loads are elaborated. Recently reported systems and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) techniques in smart grid are highlighted. Renewable energy has potential to eliminate the current electricity crisis in Pakistan's energy sector. The solar, wind, hydro and biogas/biomass are the alternative energy resources found abundantly in the country, which have tremendous potential to offer environment-friendly energy solutions. This in-depth study reveals that a lot of opportunities and potential of smart grid technology exist in developing countries like Pakistan that need to be exploited so as to cope with energy crisis.