Control of distribution grids with storage using nested Benders’ decomposition

Abstract The rapid spread of the renewable energy sources (RES) in conjunction with an increase of electric vehicles and prosumer technology in distribution systems pushes the distribution system operators to actively and economically manage and control the grid. In order to treat the unpredictable nature of RES, the operators increasingly resort to battery energy storage system (BESS). Coupled with the control functionalities such as optimal power flow (OPF), BESS can provide a leverage in grid management. The paper proposes an innovative approach to multi-period OPF based on Nested Benders’ Decomposition to properly model the multi-period constraints of the energy level of BESS. In our approach we are assessing the convergence of the nonlinear and nonconvex AC power flow using NBD. Finally, the performance of the methodology in terms of objective function values and computational complexity is evaluated through the series of test cases based on various IEEE distribution testbeds.