Optimal Short-Term Charge/Discharge Operation for Electric Vehicles With Volt-Var Control in Day-Ahead Electricity Market

Abstract

This paper presents a methodology for optimizing the short-term operation of electric vehicle (EV) charging and discharging while considering the potential curtailment of active power due to volt-var control (VVC) prioritizing reactive power output. The proposed approach involves exchanging information between the EV aggregator and the distribution system operator (DSO). This approach allows the EV aggregator to optimize EV charge/discharge schedules while considering voltage-related constraints in the distribution system (DS). Initially, the aggregator shares the optimized schedule with the DSO to estimate the anticipated active power reduction through power flow analysis. Subsequently, the aggregator revises the constraint on active power output to avoid its expected curtailment and performs a second optimization for EV charging and discharging operation. Numerical simulations conducted on a realistic DS model in Japan validate the effectiveness of the proposed method in enhancing profitability in the day-ahead market while ensuring the quality of DS voltage. The results demonstrate an increase in profit by shifting the time of EV charging and discharging based on shared information from the DSO.