IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON SMART GRID 1 A Sensitivity Analysis Toolkit for the Simplification of MV Distribution Network Voltage Management

Abstract—As distribution networks become increasingly vari-able and generation becomes increasingly decentralised, voltage standards are becoming more liable to violation. Accordingly, intelligent voltage management strategies are required to en-able standards compliance without unduly increasing network maintenance or infrastructure costs. The relationship between network power and voltages, however, is complex, non-linear and interdependent, and thus is difficult to conceptualise and use for decision-making and control purposes. This paper introduces a software toolkit that simplifies the development of voltage management strategies by the applica-tion of sensitivity analysis. Sensitivity analysis reduces complex network P – Q – |V | relationships to simple linear equations, and thus enables easy and comprehensive conceptualisation of the effect of network modifications. Sensitivity data is obtained through a unique ‘perturb-and-observe ’ algorithm built on top of an open-source simulation package. The toolkit enables the rapid development of sensitivity-driven network experimentation and is highly extensible. A number of applications that demonstrate the usefulness of these techniques are presented, including the development of a reactive power control algorithm for the mitigation of inverter-based, distributed generation (DG)-induced voltage rise, and the verification of voltage-support-capacitor-bank placement for a real Australian semi-rural network. Finally, this paper presents some suggestions for possible future applications of data-driven, simulator-augmented sensitivity analysis techniques