Post-emergency reconfiguration of a distribution network as a method for restoring power supply to consumers

The work is aimed at solving the problem of using reconfiguration and additional reactive power sources to restore power to consumers of the medium-voltage distribution network in the case of emergency disconnections of connections by bus section circuit breakers. The reconfiguration problem for a 118-node test distribution network is solved using a high-speed algorithm involving the construction of a maximum spanning tree on a network graph as the basis for determining information about the composition of branches and chords of independent circuits necessary to restore power following disconnection. To ensure acceptable voltage levels following power restoration, additional reactive power sources determined using singular Jacobian matrix analysis methods are installed in the sensor nodes of the network. For the test circuit, the modes for single disconnections of individual sectional switches, including in dead-end sections, are analysed. By optimally reconfiguring the network in the normal mode, it is possible to reduce voltage deviations from 13% to 7%. For the modes caused by disconnections of individual bus section circuit breakers that lead to unacceptable voltage deviations, the set-down locations and reactive power of additional sources are selected. In the most severe of the considered disconnection scenarios, the installation of additional sources provided a reduction in voltage deviations from 18 to 8%. Thus, the methods proposed by the authors make it possible to restore the test network mode following emergency disconnections and ensure that the voltages in the network nodes are maintained within acceptable limits, both in normal and in post-emergency modes.