Impact of uncertainty sources on the voltage control of active distribution grids

Advanced distribution management systems are increasingly required to operate today's distribution grids and to deal with the challenges brought by both renewable sources and new loads. In particular, voltage control strategies are essential to handle possible anomalies in the voltage profile of the grid. In the field implementation of voltage control algorithms, several uncertainty factors can potentially affect the operation of the control strategy and degrade its performance. This paper aims at investigating the impact brought by different sources of uncertainty on the control actions defined by a centralized voltage control algorithm. A sensitivity analysis is conducted to identify how the control output is affected by both different levels and types of input uncertainty. In particular, the performed analysis provides an insight on how uncertainties prevent the correct operation of the voltage control. To avoid this, safety margins may be used, which however lead to higher costs for the associated control actions. Tests performed on a sample low voltage grid show the implications arising due the presence of uncertainties and highlight the benefits achievable when improving the accuracy of the monitoring system.