Applications of AI in Modern/Smart Power Grids: A Short Review

The development of smart grids poses great challenges to the scientific and professional community. Increasingly strict requirements from regulators and consumers require appropriate actions from the Distribution System Operator (DSO), infrastructure development, and large investments in the modernization and digitalization of electrical distribution systems. The connection of a large number of electricity sources to the existing distribution grid causes problems that are reflected in unauthorized voltage changes or overloads in the network, as well as compromised power quality. Communication infrastructure, as well as the technologies themselves, are often not satisfactory for the requirements that arise in real networks, and the development of smart grids requires appropriate/advanced information and communication infrastructure. The development of smart grids requires an interdisciplinary approach, experts of different profiles, and clearly defined long-term strategies. This paper provides an overview of existing AI technologies which are proposed for application in power systems, as well as an overview of areas where AI can be implemented to support the operation of power systems in the future (such as maintenance, forecasting, optimization, protection, etc.). In a separate section, a simulation of the production of small PV systems connected to consumer households in weak low-voltage grids (LVG) is presented as an illustrative example. An overview of proposed AI applications in LVGs is provided, along with a discussion of possible improvements and overcoming issues that arise in existing grids with prosumers.