A Decision-Dependent Stochastic Approach for Joint Operation and Maintenance of Overhead Transmission Lines After Sandstorms

Abstract

A sandstorm is one of the extreme weather events causing extensive damage to overhead transmission lines (OTLs). Due to potential postsandstorm insulator flashover, OTLs face high failure probabilities, and implementing in-time maintenance on OTLs is crucial to mitigate postsandstorm losses. Aiming at determining an optimal maintenance sequence of targeted OTLs, this article proposes a decision-dependent stochastic approach for the joint operation and maintenance of OTLs. First, considering the inherent dependency of the uncertain availability of OTLs on maintenance decisions, the multiperiod maintenance process of OTLs is modeled as a stochastic process with decision-dependent uncertainty (DDU). Second, a two-stage stochastic model with DDU is formulated, where the maintenance sequence and unit commitment decisions are made in the first stage and the second stage comprises scenariowise operation. Then, to tackle the coupling relation between decisions and DDU, a unique modeling transformation technique is adopted to convert the established decision-dependent stochastic model into a computationally efficient form. Case studies verify the effectiveness of the proposed method for postsandstorm maintenance scheduling.