Abstract

Lately, the distribution grid has been under a significant transformation, with a pervasive integration of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for an enhanced operation and management of the grid. Some of the driving forces behind these changes are the spread of new and cheap technologies for generation and storage of electrical energy, along with the policies to reduce greenhouse emission, and the incentives for an increasing contribution of renewable energy into the global energy industry. These massive changes, especially the large scale use of distributed energy resources, have not only brought benefits, but also some new challenges. In order to deal with the new challenges, an extensive use of ICT has been introduced. In fact, the smart grid has now become a complex interdependent system of system in which the dependability of ICT has a significant impact on the overall dependability. Considering the grid’s role in the society, it is very important to carefully investigate the interdependency between the power system and the newly introduced ICT support systems.

The thesis aims to develop a modeling framework that can be used to study and analyse the dependability of future distribution grid where ICT plays a major role. In doing this, a literature survey is first conducted to identify the open challenges in modelling the future distribution grid, as well as the new behaviours that may arise due to the extensive use of ICT in the future grid. A modelling framework is then developed and the impact of the identified new behaviours and challenges on the dependability of the distribution grid is assessed using the framework
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