Using EVs as distributed energy resources for critical load restoration in resilient power distribution systems

Owing to the important role of the power system in modern societies, its resilience against natural disasters has become a top priority for power system operators and planners. Moreover, in recent years, due to the increasing number and severity of weather-related events, several operational solutions have been proposed to increase the resilience of power systems. For instance, in the distribution part of power systems, dynamic micro-grid (MG) formation can enhance resilience by means of distributed energy resources (DERs) when the main grid is unavailable. Following this concept, the capabilities of electric vehicles (EVs) such as vehicle-to-grid make it possible to use the energy stored inside them to restore critical loads. Therefore, the aggregation of EVs in the distribution system can be seen as a DER from the system operator viewpoint, and operators can benefit from this limited energy resource in MG formation. This study uses two types of EV aggregation for this purpose, i.e. a public parking lot and a residential parking. To improve system performance when using these resources, two steps should be taken: (i) employing a master-slave control technique in each MG and (ii) using a demand-side management programme.