Graph-Theoretic Partitioning for Differential Zone Protection in an Islanded Microgrid

The deployment of microgrids improves the reliability and resiliency of the electric power grid. Microgrids mitigate the impact of power outages. Microgrids, on the other hand, introduce new chal-lenges to the power system. Microgrid protection is a technological issue that arises in microgrid design and operation. These challenges arise due to the dis-tinction between microgrids and conventional electrical grids. Differential protection is fast, selective, and sensitive; it provides a potential solution to microgrid protection. The differential zone protection scheme is a cost-effective variation of differential protection that improves system reliability while decreasing the cost of the protection scheme. To deploy a differential zone protection scheme, it is necessary to divide the network into distinct protection zones. The number of protective zones results in a different level of mi-crogrid system reliability. This paper presents a graph partitioning approach for differential zone protection. Using the algorithm, the microgrid is partitioned into a number of protection zones. The proposed protection method is validated using the IEEE-13 node system as a microgrid.