Communication reliability-restricted energy sharing strategy in active distribution networks

Abstract With the development of information and communication technology (ICT), massive distributed energy resources (DERs) are aggregated to share the surplus energy across a community. Contingencies on the communication side may lead to incorrect control commands, which could influence the physical operation of power systems. However, the existing literature has ignored the extent to which communication reliability (CR) influences energy sharing in active distribution networks (ADNs). Therefore, we propose a tri-layer framework integrating decision-making and a cyber-physical system (CPS). In this framework, a number of microgrids (MGs) aggregating demand-side energy and a communication base station (BS), are connected in an ADN. Due to the interference and noise among MGs, CR is modelled as a nonlinear function of the transmit power of the different BSs, which is linearized by the least-squares method and piecewise linear (PWL) technique. The proposed energy sharing scheme minimizes the overall distribution network costs considering DER sharing under the premise that each MG meets its physical and CR constraints. Case studies based on IEEE 33- and 141-bus feeder systems validate the effectiveness of the proposed framework and method. Adjustable BS transmit power and CR constraints could effectively reduce the total cost, and all MGs could share energy via reliable communication services.