Optimal Coordinated Management of a Plug-In Electric Vehicle Charging Station under a Flexible Penalty Contract for Voltage Security

The increasing penetration of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) may cause a low-voltage problem in the distribution network. In particular, the introduction of charging stations where multiple PEVs are simultaneously charged at the same bus can aggravate the low-voltage problem. Unlike a distribution network operator (DNO) who has the overall responsibility for stable and reliable network operation, a charging station operator (CSO) may schedule PEV charging without consideration for the resulting severe voltage drop. Therefore, there is a need for the DNO to impose a coordination measure to induce the CSO to adjust its charging schedule to help mitigate the voltage problem. Although the current time-of-use (TOU) tariff is an indirect coordination measure that can motivate the CSO to shift its charging demand to off-peak time by imposing a high rate at the peak time, it is limited by its rigidity in that the network voltage condition cannot be flexibly reflected in the tariff. Therefore, a flexible penalty contract (FPC) for voltage security to be used as a direct coordination measure is proposed. In addition, the optimal coordinated management is formulated. Using the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) 69-bus test distribution network, the effectiveness of the coordination was verified by comparison with the current TOU tariff.