Preemptive Electric Vehicle Charging Strategy in Active Power Distribution Networks

Electric vehicle technologies, notably electric vehicle charging and vehicle-to-grid, represent a critical flexibility resource in smart grids and smart cities, especially within active power distribution networks. During emergencies, they can provide back-up power supply and/or mobility services for vehicle users, enabled to take proactive action to avoid supply interruption or leave the affected area. In this context, this article presents a preemptive strategy for electric vehicle charging in active power distribution networks, considering electric vehicle technology users' behaviors and the operating constraints of the grid. It incorporates sources of information typically available in a smart grid / smart city context, such as energy management system data, weather forecasts, traffic surveillance and geographic information systems, and users' behavioral patterns. The operating requirements are given by thermal and voltage constraints, whereas the user behaviors affect power exchanges with the grid, including electric vehicle charging, discharging, and load demand profiles. The methodology is written as a mixed-integer linear programming formulation aimed at minimizing the energy not supplied. Furthermore, it is demonstrated on a real-based low voltage network in the United Kingdom over a range of scenarios.