A Unified Review of Control Strategies for Flexible Distribution Systems Under High Penetration of Distributed Energy Resources

Haoyuan Wu

doi:10.62051/ijmee.v8n5.03

Authors

Haoyuan Wu Liverpool John Moores University, The Sino-British College, Shanghai, 200031, China

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.62051/ijmee.v8n5.03

Keywords:

Flexible Distribution System, Distributed Energy Resources, Network Reconfiguration, Coordinated Control, Multi-timescale Scheduling

Abstract

High penetration of distributed energy resources (DERs)—photovoltaics, wind, storage, and flexible demand—is reshaping distribution networks. Bidirectional power flows, tighter voltage limits, and higher uncertainty make traditional passive operation inadequate. Flexible distribution systems (FDSs) address this by coordinating flexibility across source–grid–load–storage. This review synthesizes core FDS work through a three-layer lens: (i) structural flexibility (reconfiguration and controllable interconnection) that expands feasibility; (ii) real-time control (local, distributed/hierarchical, and predictive) that enforces constraints; and (iii) multi-timescale scheduling that allocates resources under forecasts and uncertainty. We emphasize cross-layer alignment—structure shapes controllability, and schedules must preserve regulation margins—and summarize open challenges in uncertainty propagation, scalability, and deployable hybrid (model + data) methods.

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