Fair and Efficient Congestion Management for Low Voltage Distribution Networks

The widespread increase of photovoltaic panels in the distribution grid often leads to overvoltage. Traditional voltage regulation techniques are unfair for prosumers at the sensitive part of the grid due to larger power curtailment. Consequently, there has been considerable research on implementing fair curtailment strategies for congestion management. However, existing fairness-incorporated curtailment approaches yield varying results based on changes in the grid topology and integration of renewable energy sources. Therefore, this paper introduces proportional voltage fairness that is independent of the above-mentioned network properties and inherently distinguishes regions for fair curtailment. Additionally, there is a need to consider the underutilisation of the grid while adhering to a fair curtailment scheme. Thus this paper proposes a control algorithm incorporating proportional voltage fairness and gives the opportunity to specify the trade-off between fairness and the total power curtailed. Further, a comparative analysis with respect to state-of-the-art notions of fairness is performed.