Resilience enhancement for power distribution networks in coordination with electric vehicle fleets

With the global shift towards decarbonized transportation, the adoption of company-owned electric vehicle (EV) fleets is rapidly increasing worldwide. This paper explores the potential of these EV fleets to enhance resilience in power distribution networks through strategic charging station planning and effective post-disaster restoration. Towards this end, a tri-level optimization model is proposed to tackle i) the optimal location problem for charging stations considering grid resilience, and ii) the post-disaster restoration challenge by incentivizing EV fleets for backup power provision. Specifically, multiple performance indices are proposed within the coupled network to facilitate optimal charging station deployment. In addition, an advanced choice model is constructed to analyze the behavioral tendencies of fleet operators. To resolve the proposed model, an accelerated nested column-and-constraint generation (A-NC&CG) algorithm is presented. Numerical case studies performed on two illustrative coupled networks demonstrate that the proposed model can incentivize EV fleets to enhance grid resilience cost-effectively. © 2025 Elsevier Ltd.