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Voltage rise caused by high levels of distributed generation is manifesting as voltage regulation challenges for many electricity network service providers. In this environment it would be ideal to reduce supply voltage magnitudes, however, many network operators are hesitant to do so due to concerns related to consumer appliance performance at reduced supply voltage magnitudes. Voltage regulation requirements are defined by network standards and network service providers must ensure voltages remain within specified limits. Through an evaluation of domestic appliance performance when supplied at various voltage magnitudes, this paper examines the impact of varying voltage levels on residential appliances. Equipment energy demand, operation and actuation were monitored for each applied voltage magnitude. While no equipment failures were recorded, appliance behaviour varied significantly with applied voltage magnitude. Individual appliance conservation voltage reduction (CVR) factors have also been established. The results highlight the importance of good voltage regulation and provide substantiated appliance performance figures for future studies. The outcomes of this paper allow electricity network service providers to understand the implications of supply voltage magnitude on domestic appliance performance, whether it be understating of the impact of higher voltage magnitudes caused by distributed generation or implications of reducing voltage magnitudes to provide headroom for distributed generation integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a novel reactive power-based control strategy for single-phase PV inverters (PVIs) to simultaneously improve voltage unbalance (VU) and voltage regulation (VR) in low-voltage distribution networks. The proposed strategy relies on communication links between neighboring PVIs to exchange limited data. In this strategy, each PVI finds communication paths between itself and the closest neighboring ones connected to other phases. Then, using the obtained paths and the maximum and the minimum voltage magnitude of the grid, PVIs improve both VU and VR at the same time. The performance of the proposed control strategy is evaluated by various simulation studies using the IEEE European low-voltage test feeder and considering different operational conditions. In addition, the impacts of moving clouds and a failure in the communication links have been assessed. The simulation results exhibit that using the proposed control strategy, the voltage magnitude of all the nodes will remain within the allowed limits and at the same time, the phase voltage unbalance factor will be also significantly improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Operational performance in the low-voltage distribution network (LVDN) can be undermined by its inherent unbalances, which may become worse as the penetration of rooftop solar continuously increases. To address this issue, load balancing via phase-reconfiguration devices (PRDs), which can change phase positions of residential customers as required, provides a cost-efficient option. However, most reported approaches to control PRDs require that demands of all residential customers are available, which are not viable for many LVDNs without smart meters or advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) installed. To bridging the gap in this field, this paper proposes a novel method to control PRDs purely based on measurable data from PRDs, and its controller. Based on limited information, sensitivity analysis in the network with PRDs is studied, followed by the optimization model that comprehensively considers operational requirements in the network. Moreover, slack variables are introduced to the model, and penalized in the objective function to assure either a strategy that is secure or with minimized violations can always be provided. The model is a challenging mixed-integer non-convex programming (MINCP) problem, which is reformulated as an efficient solvable mixed-integer second-order cone programming (MISOCP) based on exact reformulations or accurate linear approximations. Simulations based on two modified IEEE systems, and a real system in Australia demonstrate that an efficient strategy can be provided to mitigate unbalances in the network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As rooftop solar PVs installed by residential customers penetrate in low voltage distribution network (LVDN), some issues, e.g. over/under voltage and unbalances, which may undermine the network's operational performance, need to be adequately addressed. To mitigate unbalances in LVDN, phase-switching devices (PSDs) and static var compensator (SVC) are two equipment that is cost-effective and efficient. However, most existing research on operating PSDs is based on inflexible heuristic algorithms or without considering the network formulation, which may lead to strategies that violate operational requirements. Moreover, few pieces of literature have been reported on mitigating unbalances in LVDN via SVC and PSDs together. This paper formulates the decision-making process as a mixed-integer non-convex programming (MINCP) problem after developing an SVC model for dispatch purpose. Compared with existing work, the proposed method aims at minimizing current unbalance based on their phasor values and takes the network's operational requirements into account. To efficiently solve the challenging problem, the MINCP is reformulated as a mixed-integer second order-cone programming (MISOCP) problem based on either exact reformulations or accurate approximations, making it possible to employ efficient off-the-shelf solvers. Simulations based on two modified IEEE systems and a practical Australian LVDN demonstrates the efficiency of the proposed method in mitigating unbalances in LVDN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a novel peak load management scheme for rural areas. The scheme transfers certain customers onto local nonembedded generators during peak load periods to alleviate network under voltage problems. This paper develops and presents this system by way of a case study in Central Queensland, Australia. A methodology is presented for determining the best location for the nonembedded generators as well as the number of generators required to alleviate network problems. A control algorithm to transfer and reconnect customers is developed to ensure that the network voltage profile remains within specification under all plausible load conditions. Finally, simulations are presented to show the performance of the system over a typical maximum daily load profile with large stochastic load variations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]