A Machine Learning-Based Privacy-Preserving Approach to Incorporate Distributed Generators in AC Optimal Power Flow

In order to achieve the goal of a carbon-neutral power system, significant changes to the power grid are underway, necessitating enhanced interoperability between Transmission System Operators (TSOs) and Distribution System Operators (DSOs) for effective grid operation, particularly in light of the growing number of distributed generators (DGs). Data privacy concerns, however, complicate decision-making processes, particularly when integrating DGs into system-wide dispatch decisions. In this paper, we propose a machine-learning (ML)-based method to incorporate DGs located within the distribution system (DS) into dispatch decisions, adhering to data privacy by mitigating the exchange of sensitive data, such as system topology and demand profiles, between TSOs and DSOs. The methodology involves training three ML models to represent the behavior of the DS, thereby replacing the standard power flow model that contains sensitive information. Notably, we utilize a novel tailored neural network (NN) architecture to enhance computational efficiency in mapping the feasible region of the DS. Additionally, we employ open-source data to construct the Baden-Wü rttemberg (Germany) electricity grid, allowing to test our method not only on standard systems but also on a model that more accurately represents real-world power systems. The numerical case studies verify that the proposed method achieves results comparable to standard AC optimal power flow (AC-OPF) in both cost-optimality and computational time.