Smart Transformer-based Network Reconfiguration for Improved Resilience

Resilience is an important property of modern electrical networks because of the increased occurrence of severe events. Resilience can be enhanced by making the system prepared to reduce the immediate impact of an extreme event and networked microgrids are one of the potential solutions which can reconfigure the system during a grid outage. Further, minimizing the impact on the consumers during long-term outages is also an objective to be considered in the resilience improvement measures. In this scenario, the smart transformer (ST) with its control and reconfiguration capabilities is a potential solution to reduce the immediate impact of the disruptive event. This paper proposes a methodology for network reconfiguration during the grid outage to protect a dual microgrid area from the immediate impact of the disruptive event. In addition, an analysis is also provided in this paper to show the impact of various energy sources on energy resilience during a long-term outage event. Various simulation results are provided to validate the methodology and analysis.