Distribution System Operator (DSO) Functions in South Korea—Part I: Development, Practical Obstacles, and Future Work

Abstract

This paper presents our initial research findings on distribution system operator (DSO) functions in South Korea. The project team includes the Korean Electric Power Corporation, which is the only public utility company in South Korea. The planned development is based on a real distribution network and real-world environments. The project encompasses DSO–transmission system operator coordination and management of real-time distribution network congestion; this paper focuses on the latter aspect. For real-time congestion management, algorithms that handle all steps from database analysis to data export, including data preprocessing, topological configuration, power flow calculation, sensitivity analysis, and derivation of solutions to congestion, are developed. The distribution system equipment database of Korean Electric Power Corporation is used to develop a network congestion management system. When examining the database, many gaps between the theoretical and practical environments were found which are introduced in this paper. A practical distribution network database for South Korea is developed to narrow these gaps and to implement practical congestion management techniques. The remaining problems are introduced as future works.