Dynamic Simulation of Distribution Systems and Microgrids for Reconfiguration Studies using PSCAD/EMTDC

This paper presents a PSCAD simulation platform for studying reconfiguration methods applied to distribution systems and microgrids. The simulation model allows to manually operate the switches for reconfiguration and service restoration studies. It can also support Python-interfaced automatic switch control. Some performance metrics like unbalance factor and error calculations are introduced. The IEEE 123 node test system was implemented in the simulation platform in order to provide benchmarking results and to demonstrate the process of reconfiguration with dynamic stability considerations. Two case studies are presented. One is on reconfiguration for the purpose of restoration of an isolated section due to a fault and another on dynamic reconfiguration for the restoration of an autonomous microgrid. The PSCAD simulation platform can be extended to verify the control performance and optimization solutions of various distribution and microgrid applications.