Power Grid Optimizer

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The Power Grid Optimizer (PGO) is an open source software for optimizing the configuration of power distribution grids.

Its uses include decision support on different time scales, including the choice of an optimal static (“default”) configuration as well as a dynamic re-configuration of the grid in response to forcasted changes in demand, production and/or grid capacity, or in fault or maintenance situations. Using a tool that enable such optimal (re-) configuration will greatly impact grid reliability and cost-efficiency. The software has been tested for actual distribution grids, and the resulting improvements in grid configuration (in this case power loss) has been verified by actual implementation and measurement.

The PGO is being developed by SINTEF in collaboration with distribution system operators (DSOs), as a community effort (see the section Get Involved below). Our aim is two fold:

To provide DSOs with a flexible tool for both long and short term grid configuration.
To provide the scientific community with a technological basis for further research and innovation on configuration-related optimal powerflow problems.

The Power Grid Optimizer can be used in two main ways:

In process, through a .NET API
As a service, through an http API.

Through either of these API’s, the user can upload network data, optimize the grid configuration with respect to a given objective function (e.g. power loss and/or reliability), to retrieve the results. The PGO can also be used to compute power flow for given input configurations, and to assess the configuration quality.

The software is available as open source, or as a Docker image; see detailed information at github. Here, in these pages, we give a high level introduction to the software, and how to use it. The target audience is DSO’s, as well as software developers who want to integrate the PGO with their own solutions.

Get involved!

The development of the PGO is a community effort. The research has been mainly done by SINTEF, but in close collaboration with a number of DSOs, and with funding from the Research Council of Norway (see below).

We have released the PGO as open source to encourage a broader dissemination of the technical results of this research. Also, we hope to involve both the DSO industry, their software suppliers, and the academia in a joint research- and innovation effort on topics related to distribution grid management and optimal power flow. We believe that by further developing the PGO, and related technologies, is a good way to fast-track the industrial exploitation of research results, and that this will contribute to increase the pace of innovation in the industry.

If these topics interest you, please get in touch by sending an e-mail to pgo@sintef.no.

If you want to simply use the PGO, feel free to download it from the github page. SINTEF also offers integration support for the PGO.

Acknowledgements

The PGO has been developed through several research and innovation initiatives, including the following projects partially sponsored by the Research Council of Norway: