Prosumer-Centric Flexible Dynamic Operating Envelopes for Low-Voltage Distribution Networks

Abstract

As the share of distributed energy resources (DERs) increases in the distribution network, maintaining compliance with network constraints has become a challenge. In this context, dynamic operating envelopes (DOEs) have emerged as a promising solution, where the distribution network operator (DNO) computes and imposes a dynamically varying import and export limit on power exchange between prosumers and the distribution network. Existing DOE approaches often require the prosumers to report their desired power exchange to the DNO, which then computes DOE limits that typically do not exceed the reported values. However, due to uncertain renewable generation and load demand, such DOE limits can potentially result in unnecessary curtailment of generation and load during real-time operation. This work addresses this limitation by computing flexible DOEs using a flexible optimization framework that trades off optimality with flexibility. The proposed approach computes both upper and lower limits on the active and reactive power exchange between each prosumer and the grid, and tries to contain the reported values between the upper and lower limits. As long as the power exchange resides within the DOE limits, network constraints are satisfied. The proposed flexible DOE is validated on a modified Australian low-voltage distribution network. Compared to non-flexible DOE, the proposed framework demonstrates superior performance in reducing curtailment and total operational costs while consistently maintaining voltage magnitudes within desired limits.