Feedback Optimization for Real-Time Power System Operation

Today's paradigm for the real-time control of power systems is inadequate to ensure efficient integration of fluctuating renewable sources and to guarantee safe operations of such a critical infrastructure. We therefore propose a novel unified control approach to the real-time operation of power systems. By formalizing relevant ancillary services as an optimization problem on the manifold of the grid steady states, we can employ a feedback scheme to steer the power system towards safe and efficient working points, while satisfying the grid operational constraints. Stability of the interconnection between power grid dynamics and the optimization scheme can be guaranteed via an ad-hoc singular perturbation analysis. The resulting guarantees are applicable to general feedback optimization problems. Preliminary simulations show how the proposed approach can be used to provide essential services like economic re-dispatch, voltage regulation, and line congestion control.