Analyzing the Impact of Failures in the Electric Power Distribution Grid

The electric power system is among the most critical infrastructures, being a support for many of them and for key resource sectors. In fact, the complex, digital world around us requires electric power for fundamental aspects of most business and consumer activities. Therefore, it is paramount to assure the correct power supply. Following the increasing trend in electricity generation from renewable sources, pushed by the need to meet sustainable energy goals in many countries, more sophisticated control strategies are being adopted to regulate the operation of the electric power system. Analyzing their effectiveness and ability to face operation in critical scenarios, such as in presence of failures, is certainly a relevant aspect to investigate. In this paper we focus on the medium voltage grid control and adopt a stochastic modeling framework appropriate to analyze voltage control strategies in presence of selected failure scenarios. The impact of the addressed failures on indicators of voltage stability, representative of the resilience shown by the analyzed system, is assessed in a real-world reference grid. Variability in both generation and loads is covered, to reflect realistic contexts where the addressed system is called to operate.