Impact assessment of LV distributed generation on MV distribution network

Abstract

Utility power systems are faced to an increasing number of small size producers requiring interconnection particularly to the low voltage (LV) network. Since most distribution systems are not designed to "receive" large scale power injections, these small generation units may impact these networks specifically in terms of quality of the energy delivered, reliability and safety of the whole distribution system from LV to medium voltage (MV) levels. In this paper, a methodology, based on a parametric study, is proposed to investigate distributed generation (DG) impacts when interconnected to distribution networks. The proposed methodology has been validated for a particular case of voltage profile (LV/MV). The test system used for this study is a real urban network containing 11 feeders with 2 transformers of 36 MVA.