Enhancing the Power Quality of Active Distribution Networks via Mobile Charging Solutions for Electric Vehicles

The development of mobile charging facilities for electric vehicles (EVs) has provided significant help in alleviating the pressure on active distribution networks (ADN) and traffic flow. This article proposes using the interaction between mobile charging facilities for EVs and the ADN to improve the power quality while ensuring the utility of mobile charging facility operators. First, the utility function of mobile charging facility operators is established with normal operation and emergency operation modes. The normal operation is to dispatch the mobile charging facilities for EVs requesting to be charged, while maximizing the charging benefits. To ensure the power quality for the ADN, the emergency operation is proposed to realize the power interaction between the mobile charging facilities and power grid. Furthermore, we propose an electricity price incentive mechanism to encourage optimal charging and discharging for mobile charging facilities. During the emergency operation, coordination between the mobile charging facilities and ADN is formulated as a Stackelberg game. We propose a sensitivity-based electricity price regulation algorithm and theoretically prove its equilibrium. Simulation results confirm the effectiveness and superiority of this approach, showing that the mobile charging facility and ADN can achieve a mutually beneficial outcome. © 2005-2012 IEEE.