Uncertainty Reduction on Flexibility Services Provision from DER by Resorting to DSO Storage Devices

Current trends in electrification of the final energy consumption and towards a massive electricity production from renewables are leading a revolution in the electric distribution system. Indeed, the traditional “fit & forget” planning approach used by Distributors would entail a huge amount of network investment. Therefore, for making these trends economically sustainable, the concept of Smart Distribution Network has been proposed, based on active management of the system and the exploitation of flexibility services provided by Distributed Energy Resources. However, the uncertainties associated to this innovation are holding its acceptance by utilities. For increasing their confidence, new risk-based planning tools are necessary, able to estimate the residual risk connected with each choice and identify solutions that can gradually lead to a full Smart Distribution Network implementation. Battery energy storage systems, owned and operated by Distributors, represent one of these solutions, since they can support the use of local flexibility services by covering part of the associated uncertainties. The paper presents a robust approach for the optimal exploitation of these flexibility services with a simultaneous optimal allocation of storage devices. For each solution, the residual risk is estimated, making this tool ready for its integration within a risk-based planning procedure.