Incorporation of Distribution System Reconfiguration and Expansion Planning Problems by Considering the Role of Demand Response Resources

The planning of an active distribution system is investigated in this study. This paper conducts a novel concept of smart distribution system reconfiguration and planning problem. Proposed problem uses the concept of distribution system reconfiguration (DSR) with the aim of reducing and postponing the expansion requirements, while the potential of demand response (DR) programs are considered. DR programs are modeled as virtual and distributed resources to be dealt with the distribution system expansion planning (DEP) problem in the long term time horizon. Indeed, the main purpose of this paper is to propose “demand response and distribution system reconfiguration and expansion planning (DR-DSREP)” problem to identify the impact of DSR and DR on the expansion planning of distribution systems. The 33-bus distribution system is utilized in numerical studies to investigate the performance and effectiveness of the proposed problem. The simulation results show the efficiency and advantage of the proposed methodology.