A general coordinated voltage regulation method in distribution networks with soft open points

Abstract Due to the high flexibility and fast response capability, power electronic devices are versatile, and increasingly being considered to mitigate voltage violations and improve system efficiency in distribution networks with high penetration of distributed generation (DG). This paper proposes a novel voltage regulation framework in distribution systems through the general types of Soft Open Points (SOPs) and reactive powers of DG inverters. By using the linearized DistFlow equations, we establish a biconvex problem that minimizes voltage deviation via a well-coordinated scheme for SOPs and DGs. The coordination of different types of power electronic devices can be simultaneously modelled into this problem which can be efficiently solved by alternative convex search algorithm. The proposed approach is validated by numerical simulations on modified IEEE 15-bus system, IEEE 33-bus system, and IEEE 69-bus system with different types of power electronic compensators.