Implication of DG Incorporation in Criticality Assessment of Power Network Buses Using Betweenness Metric

Concepts in complex network theory has emerged as an effective tool in dealing with investigations related to failures in power networks. The topological betweenness can be redefined as electrical betweenness subjected to power flow conditions and constraints. In this paper the power grid can be modeled as a directed graph in analyzing the properties of the complex network theory to identify critical buses which can create vulnerable failures of the network if removed due to unforeseen fault or an attack. The electrical betweenness metric has been considered for this purpose in order to assess the vulnerability of a power network. Simulation of an IEEE 57 bus network has revealed that the most critical bus has high degree of electrical betweenness. This paper has also highlighted the application of Distributed Generation (DG) in improvement of the betweenness metric as well as the voltage profile of the critical bus along with reduction in total system power loss following its incorporation at the most critical bus. 