Can Locational Disparity of Prosumer Energy Optimization Due to Inverter Rules Be Limited?

To mitigate issues related to the growth of variable smart loads and distributed generation, distribution system operators (DSO) now make it binding for prosumers with inverters to operate under pre-set rules. In particular, the maximum active and reactive power set points for prosumers are based on local voltage measurements to ensure that inverter output does not cause voltage violations. However, such actions, as observed in this work, restrict the range available for local energy management, with more adverse losses on arbitrage profits for prosumers located farther away from the substation. The goal of the paper is three-fold: (a) to develop an optimal local energy optimization algorithm for activation of load flexibility and inverter-interfaced solar PV and energy storage under time-varying electricity prices; (b) to quantify the locational impact on prosumer arbitrage gains due to inverter injection rules prevalent in different energy markets; (c) to propose a computationally efficient hybrid inverter control policy which provides voltage regulation while substantially reducing locational disparity. Using numerical simulations on three identical prosumers located at different parts of a radial feeder, we show that our control policy is able to minimize locational disparity in arbitrage gains between customers at the beginning and end of the feeder to 1.4%, while PV curtailment is reduced by 91.7% compared to the base case with restrictive volt-Var and volt-watt policy.