Operational Issues of Contemporary Distribution Systems: A Review on Recent and Emerging Concerns

Kabulo Loji, Sachin Sharma, Nomhle Loji, Gulshan Sharma () and Pitshou N. Bokoro
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Kabulo Loji: Department of Electrical Power Engineering, Durban University of Technology, Durban 4001, South Africa
Sachin Sharma: Department of Electrical Engineering, Graphic Era Deemed to be University, Dehradun 248002, India
Nomhle Loji: Department of Electrical Power Engineering, Durban University of Technology, Durban 4001, South Africa
Gulshan Sharma: Department of Electrical Engineering Technology, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg 2006, South Africa
Pitshou N. Bokoro: Department of Electrical Engineering Technology, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg 2006, South Africa

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 4, 1-21

Abstract: Distribution systems in traditional power systems (PS) constituted of passive elements and the distribution issues were then limited to voltage and thermal constraints, harmonics, overloading and unbalanced loading, reactive power compensation issues, faults and transients, loss minimization and frequency stability problems, to name a few. Contemporary distribution systems are becoming active distributed networks (ADNs) that integrate a substantially increasing amount of distributed energy resources (DERs). DERS include distributed generation (DG) sources, energy storage resources and demand side management (DSM) options. Despite their evidenced great benefits, the large-scale deployment and integration of DERs remain a challenge as they subsequently lead to the network operational and efficiency issues, hampering PS network reliability and stability. This paper carries out a comprehensive literature survey based on the last decade’s research on operational challenges reported and focusing on dispatchable and non-dispatchable DGs grid integration, on various demand response (DR) mechanisms and, on battery energy storage system (BESS) charging and discharging challenges, with the aim to pave the way to developing suitable optimization techniques that will solve the coordination of multiple renewable sources, storage systems and DRs to minimize distribution systems’ operational issues and thus improve stability and reliability. This paper’s findings assist the researchers in the field to conduct further research and to help PS planners and operators decide on appropriate relevant technologies that address challenges inherent to DG grid integration.

Keywords: demand response strategies; demand side management; distributed energy resources; battery energy storage systems; distribution generation; operational challenges; optimization techniques (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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