A Predictive Flexibility Aggregation Method for Low Voltage Distribution System Control

This paper presents a predictive control strategy to manage low-voltage distribution systems. The proposed approach relies on an aggregate of the flexibility at the residential unit level into a three-dimensional chart that represents the injected active and reactive power, and the flexibility cost. First, this method solves a multiparametric optimization problem offline at the residential unit level to aggregate the flexibility of the assets. Then, a semi-explicit model predictive control problem is solved to account for forecasts. By combining the results of these problems with measurements, the method generates the desired flexibility chart. The proposed approach is compatible with realtime control requirements, as heavy computations are performed offline locally, making it naturally parallelizable. By linking realtime flexibility assessment with energy scheduling, our approach enables efficient, low-cost, and privacy-preserving management of low-voltage distribution systems. We validate this method on a low-voltage network of 5 buses by comparing it with an ideal technique.