Collaborative switch placement and operational measures to enhance distribution system flexibility considering uncertain operation costs

The growing integration of intermittent renewable energy-based generation into a distribution system calls for enhanced operational flexibility. This paper investigates distribution system flexibility offered by collaborative switch placement and operational measures including network reconfiguration, demand-side response, distributed energy resources, as well as generation and load curtailment. A two-layer optimization model is formulated to capture these combined effects, with a focus on addressing the highly uncertain operation cost over an extended planning horizon. By employing the strong duality theorem, the two-layer optimization model is transformed into a single-level formulation, which can be effectively solved using commercially available optimization solvers. Simulation results on a Greek distribution system demonstrate that the proposed collaborative switch placement and system operating strategy can significantly enhance system flexibility under uncertain operation conditions. Notably, a maximum reduction of 259.34 k€ in annual operational costs is achieved with a switch installation plan costing only 6.88 k€. Furthermore, the proposed strategy reveals considerable flexibility offered by network reconfiguration, reducing the aggregated costs of demand-side response as well as generation and load curtailment, from 308.53 k€ to 49.18 k€.