This paper proposes an extension of the Optimal Power Flow (OPF) formulation so that networks can be modeled at physical level. Differently from the conventional formulation, based on the bus-branch model of the network, the proposed extension allows the explicitly representation of switches and circuit breakers of selected substations. The proposed methodology is based on the zero impedance branch representation in the power system state estimation, which has been recently applied to the power flow problem. In this approach, the active and reactive power flow through switches and circuit breakers are included as new state variables. Furthermore, the devices' statuses are included as new equality constraints in the OPF problem. The impact of the new network representation in the solution of the OPF, as well as the application of the proposed tool are presented and discussed in the paper. Simulation results related to the IEEE 30bus test system and a real power system of COPEL (Parana Energy Company), with 291 buses, are presented to illustrate and evaluate the performance of the proposed approach.
Optimal Power Flow; Zero Impedance Branches; Network Model; Primal Dual Interior Point Method
