Active network management: Planning under uncertainty for exploiting load modulation

This paper addresses the problem faced by a distribution system operator (DSO) when planning the operation of a network in the short-term. The problem is formulated in the context of high penetration of renewable energy sources (RES) and distributed generation (DG), and when flexible demand is available. The problem is expressed as a sequential decision-making problem under uncertainty, where, in the first stage, the DSO has to decide whether or not to reserve the availability of flexible demand, and, in the subsequent stages, can curtail the generation and modulate the available flexible loads. We analyze the relevance of this formulation on a small test system, discuss the assumptions made, compare our approach to related work, and indicate further research directions.