Warm start oriented discrete coordinate descent for dynamic CVR: A UK case study

Conservation Voltage Reduction (CVR) has been found to be an effective methodology for dealing with thermal and voltage challenges caused by increasing penetration of low carbon technologies in power system distribution networks. Using validated openDSS simulation models of a number of distribution networks in the greater Manchester area in the UK, this paper evaluates the effectiveness of dynamically optimized CVR for energy reduction on distribution networks equipped with tap-changing transformers and switchable capacitor banks. Optimization of these controllable devices is carried out every 30 minutes using an oriented discrete coordinate descent (ODCD) algorithm, with a warm start strategy adopted to address local minima issues. Results show that the performance of warm start ODCD is comparable to Particle Swarm Optimisation, a benchmark global optimization technique, at a substantially reduced computation cost. The resulting dynamically optimized CVR yields an average reduction in energy consumption of 8% relative to nominal operating conditions for the low voltage distribution networks considered in the study.