Adaptive frequency containment and balance restoration controls in a distribution network

One of the greatest challenges in the future power systems operation is their ability to host high amounts of Renewable Energy Sources (RES). To cope with this, various research activities such as the ELECTRA Integrated Research Project (IRP) propose solutions that can increase the hosting capacity of power systems. Inside ELECTRA a new control framework has been proposed, the Web-of-Cells (WoC), in which the power system is divided into smaller subsystems (cells) and reorganized in new roles and responsibilities. Each cell has to contribute to balance/frequency and voltage controls and it is responsible for its behavior at its boundaries. In this paper, the results of the analysis that was conducted in the frame of the ELECTRA Researcher Exchange (REX) program are presented about the modelling and simulation of the MV reference grid proposed by CIGRE in combination with two of the control Use Cases (UCs) proposed inside ELECTRA, namely Frequency Containment Control (FCC) and Balance Restoration Control (BRC). The control scheme under study makes use of a novel strategy that adaptively allows the cell controller to detect the location of an imbalance and adjust the primary reserves contribution so that local reserves activations take always priority. Simulation results show that the modelling approach presents good accuracy and overall performance, while the controller implemented shows benefits for the system operation.