Abstract
This paper presents a new and efficient methodology for distribution network reconfiguration integrated with optimal power flow (OPF) based on a Benders decomposition approach. The objective minimizes power losses, load balancing among feeders, and is subject to constraints: capacity limit of branches, minimum and maximum power limits of substations or distributed generators, minimum deviation of bus voltages, and radial optimal operation of networks. A specific approach of the Generalized Benders decomposition algorithm is applied to solve the problem. The formulation can be embedded under two stages: the first one is the Master problem and is formulated as a mixed integer nonlinear programming problem. This stage determines the radial topology of the distribution network. The second stage is the Slave problem and is formulated as a nonlinear programming problem. This stage is used to determine the feasibility of the Master problem solution by means of an OPF and provides information to formulate the linear Benders cuts that connect both problems. The model is programmed in the General Algebraic Modeling System. The effectiveness of the proposal is demonstrated through three examples extracted from the literature.

Abstract
The integration of large shares of wind generation in power systems requires the development of new algorithms and forecasting tools for making decisions in the operational domain taking into account wind generation forecast uncertainties. One of these decisions regards operating reserve requirements to meet load and wind variations. The aim of this paper is therefore to address this issue from a risk evaluation perspective, showing that it is possible to describe the consequences of each possible reserve level through a set of risk indices useful for decision-making. The new reserve management tool described in this paper is intended to support the Transmission System Operator (TSO) in defining on-line the operating reserve needs for the daily and intraday markets. Decision strategies like setting an acceptable risk level or finding a compromise between economic issues and the risk of loss of load are explored. A case-study based on the Portuguese power system demonstrates the usefulness and efficiency of the tool.

Abstract
Reserve definition is a compromise between economic issues (additional capacity costs) and reliability (risk of loss of load due to outages of the generators), generally approached by deterministic criteria (e.g. the percentage rule defined by UCTE in Europe) and probabilistic methods like PJM (Pennsylvania-New Jersey, Maryland) and its enhancements, based on the concept of risk. With wind power generation increasing in power systems worldwide, these operational issues gain a renewed interest due to the volatile nature of this kind of energy. The aim of this paper is therefore to address this issue from a risk evaluation point of view, showing that it is possible to extend classical probabilistic methods to this new situation, by introducing a detailed Markov model of wind parks that accounts both for machine failures and different wind power levels. This evaluation, where wind generation fluctuation and uncertainty is included, can be helpful for transmission system operators (TSO). when defining the reserve requirements for the next hours. In fact, the results obtained for the risk can be used by TSO to check if the reserve levels that results from traditional deterministic rules are acceptable or need to be increased.

Abstract
This paper presents an application of probabilistic methodologies to evaluate the reserve requirements of generating systems with a large penetration of renewable energy sources. The idea is to investigate the behavior of reliability indices, including those from the well-being analysis, when the major portion of the renewable sources comes from wind power and other intermittent sources. A new simulation process to address operating reserve adequacy is introduced, and the correspondent reliability indices are observed. Case Studies on the Portuguese and Spanish generating systems are presented and discussed.

Abstract
Recognizing the benefit that one can get by exploiting the Micro-Grid (MG) concept, as an active part of the Low Voltage (LV) network comprising several micro-generation (mu G) sources, controllable loads and storage devices, is a key issue towards the MG concept deployment. Furthermore, the MG concept is extended into Multi-Micro Grid (MMG) concept, identifying the benefits that can be obtained at Medium Voltage (MV) level. The main idea behind this research is to show what one gains and what one looses by setting up the MG concept. Therefore, the benefits reported, are evaluated through a cost-benefit approach by modeling the problem as a multi-attribute problem using several Decision-Aid (DA) techniques to capture different Decision Maker (DM) preference structures.

Abstract
In the scope of the discussions about microgeneration (and microgrids), the avoided electrical losses are often pointed out as an important value to be credited to those entities. Therefore, methods to assess the impact of microgeneration on losses must be developed in order to support the definition of a suitable regulatory framework for the economic integration of microgeneration on distribution networks. This paper presents an analytical method to quantify the value of avoided losses that microgeneration may produce on LV networks. Intervals of expected avoided losses are used to account for the variation of avoided losses due to the number, size and location of microgenerators, as well as for the kind of load distribution on LV networks.