Improving Distribution System Resilience by Undergrounding Lines and Deploying Mobile Generators

Abstract: To improve the resilience of electric distribution systems, this paper proposes a stochastic multi-period mixed-integer linear programming model that determines where to underground distribution lines and how to coordinate mobile generators in order to serve critical loads during extreme events. The proposed model represents the service restoration process using the linearized DistFlow approximation of the AC power flow equations as well as binary variables for the undergrounding statuses of the lines, the configurations of switches, and the locations of mobile generators during each time period. The model also enforces a radial configuration of the distribution network and considers the transportation times needed to reposition the mobile generators. Using an extended version of the IEEE 123-bus test system, numerical simulations show that combining the ability to underground distribution lines with the deployment of mobile generators can significantly improve the resilience of the power supply to critical loads.