DSO Toolbox

Toolbox for Distribution
Systems Operators

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About

Background

The ever increasing penetration of distributed Renewable Energy Systems (DRES) into the Distribution Grid entails significant challenges for the Distribution System Operators (DSOs). Such challenges emerge due to the transition from the traditional architecture whereby power flows from centralized production to the loads at the edges of the grid to a new paradigm whereby bidirectional power flows appear on the lines, due to the presence of DRES. In this context DSOs are in need of novel tools and methodologies that will enable them:

  • To perform cost / benefit analysis regarding the incorporation of different technologies and the adoption of various emerging added-value services into the Distribution Gridmodus operandi;
  • To decide on the technically credible and economically viable operation of the Distribution Grid, especially in light of the presence of a large number of intermittent production units and while operating in island mode;
  • To decide on the composition and functional characteristics of the various types of production units, as well as to the planning, scheduling, operation, supervision and control of the various assets of the Distribution Grid; and
  • To dynamically shape the load-curve in order to respond to the production conditions and dynamic conditions of the Distribution Grid.

Objectives

The aim of the project is to develop a toolbox that will facilitate DSOs in the fulfillment of their tasks, both in planning and at the operational phase. In particular, the following tools and models will be developed:

  • A tool for techno-economic analysis of the impact of incorporating different technologies and energy services into the Distribution Grid modus operandi;
  • Models for the assessment of the flexibility of operation of the Distribution Grid;
  • Models for spatial electric load forecasting;
  • A tool for the operation of the Distribution Grid at emergency conditions;
  • A tool for power quality monitoring; and
  • An Enterprise Service Bus for information’ and services’ integration and interoperation within the DSO’s IT ecosystem.

Solutions to be developed

The project develops models and tools at three levels:

Expansion and upgrade of the Distribution Grid

Concerns a tool for simulation and techno-economic analysis for planning the expansion and upgrade of the Distribution Grid, by defining new elements of the grid and taking into account the future load increase and the increasing introduction of DRES and storage elements at the Low Voltage grid. Also, development of models for determining the flexibility of the Distribution Grid in the light of future developments (demand response services, p2p trading, etc.) as well as spatially-focused load forecasting models.

Active Management of the Distribution Grid

Tools that facilitate the operation of the Distribution Grid in an emergency situation (e.g. after a permanent fault is detected) and enable real-time monitoring and assessment of the power quality of supply.

Subsystems integration and interoperability with DSO’s IT ecosystem

Concerns the interaction and interoperability of the project’s tools among each other as well as with widely used DSO legacy systems, on the basis of international information and communication standards.

High Level Architecture

Plan

WP Structure

The work is divided into 4 work packages (WP):
  • WP1 analyzes the requirements of the DSOs in the area of ​​grid planning, programming, load forecasting and flexibility. In parallel, the specifications of the developed models and tools will be defined along with their implementation details and the reference architecture of the project.
  • In the context of WP 2 & 3 the tools for planning and active management of the grid will be developed.
  • WP4 focuses on the development of the integration mechanism for the outcomes of WP 2 and 3, whilst technical audit and demonstration scenarios will be defined along with key performance indicators. Finally, the tools will be tested and evaluated in laboratory environment.

Timeline

The project started on July 2018 and has a duration of 3 years.

Consortium

Intracom Telecom

Institute of Communications and Computer Systems

Intracom SA Telecom Solutions (ICOM) is the largest multinational provider of telecommunications products and integrated ICT solutions & services in Greece with a proven track record of over 35 years of international presence and more than 100 customers in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Its expertise lies on the development of telecommunication products, smart cyber-physical systems and end-to-end integrated solutions. ICOM has a vast experience in designing, developing and producing state-of-the-art telecommunication and energy management equipment, and has combined its expertise in those two fields in order to meet the demands of the evolving market domain related to the Smart Grids.
The Institute of Communication and Computer Systems (ICCS) is a private law body associated with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering of the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA). ICCS has been established in 1989 by the Ministry of Education in order to carry out research and development activities in the fields of telecommunication systems and computer systems and their applications in a variety of domains such as electric power systems, software and hardware engineering, control systems and biomedical engineering. The Electric Energy Systems (EES) Laboratory of NTUA has been actively involved in research in the areas of Power System Analysis, Planning and Control, Renewable Energy Sources (RES).

Publications

I.I. Avramidis, V.A. Evangelopoulos, and P.S. Georgilakis, “Demand Side Flexibility Prospects in Modern LV Networks: A Probabilistic Assessment,” in Proc. 2019 IEEE PowerTech, Milan, Italy, 23-28 Jun. 2019. N.C. Koutsoukis, P.S. Georgilakis, and N.D. Hatziargyriou, “Service restoration of active distribution systems with increasing penetration of renewable distributed generation,” IET Generation, Transmission, and Distribution, accepted for publication.
N.C. Koutsoukis, P.S. Georgilakis, “A multistage distribution network planning method considering distributed generation active management and demand response,” IET Renewable Power Generation, article in press. V.A. Evangelopoulos, P. Georgilakis, “Probabilistic spatial load forecasting based on hierarchical trending method,” Energies, Vol. 13, No. 18, 4643, September 2020.
V.A. Evangelopoulos, I.I. Avramidis, P.S. Georgilakis, “Flexibility services management under uncertainties for power distribution systems: Stochastic scheduling and predictive real-time dispatch,” IEEE Access, Vol. 8, pp. 38855-38871, February 2020. N. Koutsoukis and P. Georgilakis, “A chance-constrained multistage planning method for active distribution networks,” Energies, vol. 12, no. 21, October 2019.
N.C. Koutsoukis, P.S. Georgilakis, and N.D. Hatziargyriou, “Service restoration of active distribution systems with increasing penetration of renewable distributed generation,” IET Generation, Transmission & Distribution, vol. 13, no. 14, pp. 3177–3187, July 2019.

Deliverables

D1.1 Requirements Analysis
D1.2 Architectural design and technical specifications
D2.1 Initial dissemination actions.
D2.2 Design of innovative load forecasting models
D2.3 Design of innovative distribution network flexibility forecasting models
D2.4 Dissemination actions for models and tools of WP2
D3.1 Design of tool for the operation of the Distribution Network at emergency conditions
D3.2 Design of tool for power quality monitoring in a Distribution Grid
D3.3 Dissemination actions related to tools of WP3
D4.1 Definition of demonstration scenarios and key performance indicators
D4.2 ESB software development for integration of DSO’s tools and applications
D4.3 Tools development, demonstration scenarios realization and KPIs evaluation (initial version)
D4.4 Tools development, demonstration scenarios realization and KPIs evaluation (final version)
D4.5 Assessment of economic prospects and commercial exploitation of project’s results
D4.6 Final dissemination actions

News/ Events

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Project Final Event! 16 December 2021

The project's final event took place virtually the 16th of December, 2021.

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Project Kick off! 20 July 2018

The kick off meeting took place the 20th of July, 2018 at the premises of ICCS.

Project Kick off!
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20 July 2018

The project’s kick-off meeting took place at the National Technical University of Athens on the 20th of July 2018. Representatives from both partners of the consortium met for the first time and started organizing the work of upcoming months.

Project Final Event!
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16 December 2021

The project's final event took place virtually the 16th of December, 2021. Consortium members presented the project's technical and research achievements.

The presentations of the final event are provided below:

Project Coordinator

Ilias Lamprinos
labil@intracom-telecom.com

Scientific Coordinator

Prof. Pavlos GEORGILAKIS
pgeorg@power.ece.ntua.gr

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