23 rd International Conference on Electricity Distribution Lyon, 15-18 June 2015 Paper 0461 CIRED 2015 1/5 METHOD TO SCAN THE LOW VOLTAGE NETWORK FLEXIBILITY TO ADAPT TO FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS Ernauli APRILIA Frans PROVOOST Sjef COBBEN Alliander N.V. – The Netherlands Alliander N.V. – The Netherlands Alliander N.V.-TU/e – The Netherlands lia.aprilia@alliander.com frans.provoost@alliander.com sjef.cobben@alliander.com ABSTRACT It is expected, that new technologies in load and generation (PV, EV and heat pumps) may cause power quality and grid operating problems, especially in LV grids. However, without additional information, it is still not clear which problems will occur; as well as when and where (geographically) they will take place. This paper provides a method to gain a good insight in the distribution network adaptability for these future developments. The method makes use of in-house available data to perform grid calculation. Further it classifies and visualises the calculated results. This will help the grid planners and operators to define the necessary measures needed to prevent and mitigate expected power quality (PQ) and other network problems. INTRODUCTION As one of the distribution system operators in The Netherlands, Alliander has the responsibility to facilitate the transition towards more distributed generation and new types of loads, e.g. solar panels (PV), electric vehicles (EV), and heat pumps (HP). The grid, which was designed several decades ago, was not designed for these new generations and loads. Therefore, problems are expected to occur, especially in the LV network. However, it is still not clear as to what, where, and when these problems would occur. It is therefore important to have an insight in the network condition, not only for the daily operation at this moment but also for investment purposes in the future. Especially, the asset management department needs to know how flexible the network is to adapt to different scenarios of the energy transition so that the necessary measures can be taken in due time. This is specifically concerning several aspects, such as flicker, safety, voltage level, and component loading. To simulate the impact of future scenarios and also to assess the present situation, Alliander needs to have a realistic and predictive model of the LV network. Subsequently, to determine whether the present situation complies with the network code and whether the future scenarios will cause a problem, the simulation results have to be classified. LOW VOLTAGE NETWORK DESIGN AND MAINTENANCE At this moment, an extension of the LV network takes place when there is a new installation, e.g. of a new building or a new residential area. A grid planner will then model this new installation in Gaia, a LV network design and simulation software. In addition to that, a grid planner has to calculate the grid impedance at the customer’s point of connection (PoC) when t he customer reports a complaint regarding the voltage quality. An overview of the current process is shown in Fig. 1. Asset and customer data such as the cable parameters are exported from the GISdatabase, called Netwerk Registratie GIS (NRG) in Alliander, through an external application such as ArcGIS or WebGIS. Figure 1Currently used method for LV grid calculations All of this is performed manually for every installation – which is labour intensive. With the distributed generations and loads still expected to grow in the coming years [1], the labour hour for the calculations with regards to new installations or complaints will only increase. Take for example the PV technology. PV technology The voltage level at PV panels PoC is determined by the current it produces and the grid impedance at that point. If the grid impedance is high, the voltage level may exceed the limit specified by the grid code. This especially happens if PV is connected at the end of the cable which either is relatively long or has a small conductor diameter. Usually the solutions to this problem are a new transformer setpoint, a bigger cable, or a dedicated cable – which is costly. By identifying possible problematic areas timely, Alliander can proactively take necessary precautions, including making necessary arrangements with the customers. For example, peak shaving of the PV production, downscaling of the PV capacity, or another configuration of the grid. In this way, customer complaints or dissatisfaction – and the cost resulting from them- can be prevented.