Cristian Alcarruz

Thesis Title

Integrated Transmission and Distribution System Planning and Operation

Research Overview

The rapid growth of distributed energy resources (DER) is fundamentally transforming modern power systems. While these technologies can reduce costs, support decarbonisation, and enhance system flexibility and resilience, fully unlocking their value requires new approaches to coordinate transmission and distribution systems in both operation and planning. This research focuses on developing practical methodologies that capture the operational capabilities and investment needs of active distribution systems (ADS), facilitating real-world coordination with transmission systems. The work aims to enable scalable and realistic coordination between large-scale power system development and DER under existing regulatory structures. More broadly, the research contributes to the transition toward low-carbon, decentralised, and more flexible power systems capable of efficiently integrating high levels of DER while maintaining reliability and affordability.

Supervisor

Prof Pierluigi Mancarella

Qualifications

BSc in Electrical Engineering, University of Chile