Resilience enhancement strategy using microgrids in distribution network

We propose a restoration strategy using microgrids for restoring power supply to critical loads after an extreme event and thereby enhancing the resilience of the distribution power grid. The limited capacities of distributed generators (DGs) within the microgrids and those of intermittent energy sources such as wind and photovoltaic power are considered. An enhanced strategy model of the distribution network is established for maximizing the power supply to critical loads. Firstly, the importance of the load is quantified by using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and the model of the microgrid output is further improved. In the demand response mechanism, an interruptible load is used to suppress the fluctuation in the distributed power output. Secondly, piecewise linearization method is applied to address the power flow constraints. Then, the resilience enhancement model of the distribution network is transformed into a mixed integer quadratic programming problem. The CPLEX solver is adopted to solve the above problem on the MATLAB platform. Finally, the proposed method is verified by applying it to practical scenarios. Keywords: Resilience, Distribution power grid, Microgrid, Load restoration, Piecewise linear approximation