Risk-Based Methods Applied to Power and Energy Systems

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to introduce a Special Issue of Energies on "Risk-Based Methods Applied to Power and Energy Systems" and to invite interested authors to upload original contributions on related topics. The aim of this Special Issue is to collect articles in which risk-related methods are formulated and applied to different contexts in the power and energy systems area.

In recent years, the methodologies used for analyzing various power and energy system problems have progressively evolved to include notions of uncertainty and risk. This evolution is bringing new ideas, or adapting concepts used in other technical and economic domains. The general mathematical notion of risk is well defined, however its application is strictly dependent on context. As such, the risk-related methods have to be customized to become fruitful in the specific domains. The application of advanced risk-based methods is also enriching the skills of researchers in adopting a multi-disciplinary view.

Extended phenomena, such as large blackouts or the effects of adverse events involving critical infrastructure, have raised awareness of a risk-based approach to security assessment, and also under dynamic conditions. The concept of risk is widely exploited in conjunction with notion of resilience in case of extreme events. Different types of analyses are carried out by following the traditional meaning of risk in financial terms, and are extended to the development of energy markets, to the procurement of reserve services, and to various applications needing some extent of decision-making. The formulation of risk-based approaches in energy planning is now quite common. However, further applications are emerging on the operational side, concerning the availability of renewable power resources, the inclusion of environmental aspects, and the operation of distribution systems and microgrids. A continuing redefinition of acceptable risk, depending on the evolution of technology and in the knowledge of potential hazards, are also in place in electrical safety applications and in the component and system design practices.

The main topics of interest for this Special Issue include, but are not limited to:

• Risk-based power system security assessment
• Risk of protection system failures
• Critical events and system resilience
• Risks of cascading outages
• Risk aspects in power system economics
• Risks in operational reserve procurement
• Risk-based unit commitment and resource scheduling
• Risk-based power and energy systems planning
• Operational risks with renewable energy resources
• Risk of islanding in distribution networks and microgrids
• Advanced aspects considering risk in electrical safety applications
• Environmental risks for power and energy systems
• Risk-constrained decision making and optimization
• Emergent applications of risk-related concepts to power and energy systems

We look forward to receiving valuable contributions.

Prof. Angela Russo
Prof. Gianfranco Chicco
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.