A Grid-Edge-Inspired and Community-Oriented Control Framework: Utility perspective on centralized and decentralized control

Abstract

Technology advancements in renewable generation, power electronic devices, and advanced computing expedite a decarbonized, decentralized, and digitalized grid. These advancements also enable a role transition for traditional utility customers, enabling the role of “prosumers” who provide power to the grid with distributed energy resources (DERs) that exceed their demand and who adjust the timing of their energy consumption to energy pricing. Although this role change can alleviate stresses on the grid and support a clean generation future, it sparks multiple challenges for the power industry, spanning system operation to future grid planning. One class of problems relates to visibility. Utility operators usually do not have oversight over rooftop solar photovoltaics (PVs) or site batteries. These behind-the-meter (BTM) DERs tend to cluster in neighborhoods, which can cause or exacerbate issues with reverse power flow, power quality, and load masking. In turn, these problems increase the risk of relay miscoordination and power interruptions during normal grid operations. Aging grid infrastructure adds an additional layer of uncertainty to the operational characteristics of the nonvisible generation stack, and electrification adds a layer on top of that, with the increasing penetration of electric vehicles adding stochastic loads to the system. These challenges are not only operational, they also relate to the near- and long-term planning of the grid. Because planners cannot anticipate where and when the new DER interconnections will be requested by customers, requests may overturn the original grid upgrade plan and reshape resource distribution.