Multi-period Load Restoration in Distribution System Considering Crew Dispatch

Distribution service restoration (DSR) is essential to enhance system’s resilience against power outages. Repair of damaged components and network reconfiguration are tightly coupled in DSR. An appropriate repair schedule could accelerate the restoration and a proper configuration could in turn enhance repair efficiency. In this paper, a multi-period load restoration method is proposed to coordinate network reconfiguration and repair procedures. To deal with the dynamic microgrid islands formed by distributed generators (DG), radial topology constraints are utilized to ensure a radial and connected network throughout restoration. Additionally, repair crew dispatch is considered to derive an optimal repair sequence and repair resource allocation. With piecewise linear approximation of power flow constraints, the proposed multi-period DSR problem is formulated as a mixed-integer linear program. The main objective is to maximize picked-up loads through optimal coordination between crew dispatch and network configuration. The effectiveness of the proposed method is investigated on a modified IEEE 33-bus distribution test system with multiple damaged components. Numerical simulation results have shown that the proposed method offers a viable solution to minimize the duration and size of power outages.