Network Topology Reconfiguration: Optimal Transition Planning

Abstract

Network topology reconfiguration (NTR) can reduce power system operating costs by co-optimizing generation dispatch and substation switching, but the reported savings describe a target operating point rather than a way to reach it. Reaching this operating point requires a sequence of intermediate operating points, each satisfying the AC power flow equations and thermal limits; because each topology admits its own feasible dispatch region, a naive transition that switches or redispatches first can drive intermediate flows past their thermal limits. Existing methods leave this gap open: snapshot NTR identifies a target but not a route. We formulate the Optimal Transition Planning (OTP) problem, co-optimizing the switching sequence and dispatch trajectory subject to AC feasibility at every intermediate point. We solve this problem with a receding-horizon framework: a DC planner proposes a trajectory that is certified against an AC feasibility filter, and infeasible topologies are excluded using reusable combinatorial cuts. Case studies on congested PGLib-OPF systems up to 1354-bus show that the method produces AC-feasible transitions that reduce operating cost by up to 18.4% compared to the no-switching ACOPF solution on commodity hardware.