A Sensitivity-based Congestion Management Method for Low Voltage Grids

Abstract:
The energy transition in Germany requires efficient management of low-voltage grids to meet the increasing demand from electric cars, heat pumps, and photovoltaic systems. This paper presents a sensitivity-based approach for congestion management in low-voltage grids, analyzing computation times and curtailed power compared to a mathematical AC Optimal Power Flow. Through sensitivity calculations, the impacts of power changes on voltages and current flows are determined, allowing for rapid identification and resolution of congestions. Simulations in Python using pandapower and three SimBench low-voltage grids show that the sensitivity-based approach has significantly faster computation times in all scenarios, while the curtailed active power remains comparable in many cases. The results highlight the trade-off between computation time and result quality of the proposed approach and emphasize the need for further investigations in larger grids, as well as the consideration of economic aspects in implementation.