The DOI matches its Crossref record; 52 of the 53 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
A Review of Power Distribution Test Feeders in the United States and the Need for Synthetic Representative Networks
Open accessAbstract
Under the increasing penetration of distributed energy resources and new smart network technologies, distribution utilities face new challenges and opportunities to ensure reliable operations, manage service quality, and reduce operational and investment costs. Simultaneously, the research community is developing algorithms for advanced controls and distribution automation that can help to address some of these challenges. However, there is a shortage of realistic test systems that are publically available for development, testing, and evaluation of such new algorithms. Concerns around revealing critical infrastructure details and customer privacy have severely limited the number of actual networks published and that are available for testing. In recent decades, several distribution test feeders and US-featured representative networks have been published, but the scale, complexity, and control data vary widely. This paper presents a first-of-a-kind structured literature review of published distribution test networks with a special emphasis on classifying their main characteristics and identifying the types of studies for which they have been used. This both aids researchers in choosing suitable test networks for their needs and highlights the opportunities and directions for further test system development. In particular, we highlight the need for building large-scale synthetic networks to overcome the identified drawbacks of current distribution test feeders.
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In the citing paper
“These models are less suitable for EV impact studies as the overall design and data available were published for specific issues [14].”
From Optimized Integration of Electric Vehicles in Low Voltage Distribution Grids (2019) · cites this paper as [14]
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In the citing paper
“Low-voltage grids have large variations in their design [18].”
From A large-scale high-resolution geographic analysis of impacts of electric vehicle charging on low-voltage grids (2022) · cites this paper as [18]
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In the citing paper
“The size of the network should be considered in order to have reliable results because small-scale networks miss heterogeneity [14].”
From Optimized Integration of Electric Vehicles in Low Voltage Distribution Grids (2019) · cites this paper as [14]
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Citations
Cites
The Impact of Charging Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles on a Residential Distribution Grid
Clement-Nyns, K., Haesen, E., & Driesen, J. (2010) · IEEE Transactions on Power Systems · doi:10.1109/tpwrs.2009.2036481 · Cited by 2,847
Radial distribution test feeders
Kersting, W. H. (1991) · IEEE Transactions on Power Systems · doi:10.1109/59.119237 · Cited by 1,912
Analytic Considerations and Design Basis for the IEEE Distribution Test Feeders
Schneider, K. P., Mather, B. A., Pal, B. C., Ten, C., Shirek, G. J., Zhu, H., Fuller, J., Pereira, J. L. R., Ochoa, L. F., de Araújo, L. R., et al. (2017) · IEEE Transactions on Power Systems · doi:10.1109/tpwrs.2017.2760011 · Cited by 715
Self-citationDistributed Optimal Power Flow for Smart Microgrids
Dall’Anese, E., Zhu, H., & Giannakis, G. B. (2013) · IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid · doi:10.1109/tsg.2013.2248175 · Cited by 705
Assessment of Energy Distribution Losses for Increasing Penetration of Distributed Generation
MendezQuezada, V. H., RivierAbbad, J., & Román, T. G. S. (2006) · IEEE Transactions on Power Systems · doi:10.1109/tpwrs.2006.873115 · Cited by 618
Jang, S.-I., & Kim, K. H. (2004) · IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery · doi:10.1109/tpwrd.2003.822964 · Cited by 592
An open source platform for collaborating on smart grid research
Dugan, R. C., & McDermott, T. E. (2011) · 2011 IEEE Power and Energy Society General Meeting · doi:10.1109/pes.2011.6039829 · Cited by 533
Distributed Volt/VAr Control by PV Inverters
Jahangiri, P., & Aliprantis, D. (2013) · IEEE Transactions on Power Systems · doi:10.1109/tpwrs.2013.2256375 · Cited by 477
The impact of vehicle-to-grid on the distribution grid
Clement-Nyns, K., Haesen, E., & Driesen, J. (2010) · Electric Power Systems Research · doi:10.1016/j.epsr.2010.08.007 · Cited by 434
Evaluating Distributed Generation Impacts With a Multiobjective Index
Ochoa, L. F., Padilha‐Feltrin, A., & Harrison, G. P. (2006) · IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery · doi:10.1109/tpwrd.2005.860262 · Cited by 384
Flagged first, then by citations
1 of the 53 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.
Research works printed but not linked: 2
- Rodriguez-Calvo, A. (2017). Scalability and Replicability of the Impact of Smart Grid Solutions on Distribution Networks. [Ph.D. Thesis, Universidad Pontificia Comillas].
- Kersting, W.H. (February, January 28). Radial distribution test feeders. Proceedings of the 2001 IEEE Power Engineering Society Winter Meeting (Cat. No.01CH37194), Columbus, OH, USA.
Cited by
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Items 101–106 of 106
Mishra, S., Khatami, R., & Chen, Y. C. (2023) · doi:10.36227/techrxiv.24585051.v1
Mishra, S., Khatami, R., & Chen, Y. C. (2023) · doi:10.36227/techrxiv.24585051
Tools and test systems for hosting capacity assessment
Umoh, V. B., Akpan, J. S., Donaldson, D., & Adebiyi, A. A. (2025) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-443-33912-7.00007-4
Loss Minimization and Voltage Profiling for Efficient Operation in Large-Scale Synthetic Power Grids
Adeloye, A., Abood, S. I., Annamalai, A., Chouikha, M., Khalid, I., & L, B.-P. K. (2025) · North American Power Symposium (NAPS) · doi:10.1109/naps66256.2025.11272332
Learning a generalized model for substation level voltage estimation in distribution networks
Za’ter, M. E., & Hodge, B. S. (2026) · Electric Power Systems Research · doi:10.1016/j.epsr.2026.113778
Self-citationTwo-stage smart charging of commercial electric vehicle fleets to benefit fleet and grid operators
Sastry, K. V., Viteri, C. E., Leamy, M. J., & Taylor, D. G. (2026) · International Journal of Electrical Power & Energy Systems · doi:10.1016/j.ijepes.2026.112089
Metadata
- Authors
- Postigo Marcos, F., Mateo Domingo, C., Gómez San Román, T., Palmintier, B., Hodge, B.-M., Krishnan, V., De Cuadra García, F., & Mather, B.
- Affiliations
- Institute for Research in Technology (IIT), Comillas Pontifical University, Madrid 28015, Spain
- National Laboratory of the Rockies (US)
- ORCID
- Venue
- Energies
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Published
- 2017-11-18
- Volume
- 10
- Issue
- 11
- Pages
- 1896
- ISSN
- 1996-1073 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2768772793
- Cited by
- 106
- References
- 53
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 14 · 2022: 24 · 2021: 19 · 2020: 18 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 2
- FWCI
- 3.30
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Energies (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- OSTI OAI (U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information) (submittedVersion)
- CU Scholar (University of Colorado Boulder) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- U.S. Department of Energy (DE-AC36-08GO28308)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Electrical and Electronic Engineering › Optimal Power Flow Distribution
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Electrical and Electronic Engineering › Smart Grid and Power Systems
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Electrical and Electronic Engineering › Power System Optimization and Stability
- Keywords
- distribution networks, test system design, distributed energy resources, distribution automation, control data, network classification, distribution utilities
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