Aliamooei Lakeh, S. (ECE) – Optimization and Decision-Support Frameworks for Resilient Power Systems Under Large-Scale Electrification

The rapid electrification of transportation is creating new interdependencies between power and transportation systems, particularly during extreme events and disasters. As electric vehicle (EV) adoption increases, evacuation-related charging demand, infrastructure disruptions, and limited access to energy resources introduce challenges that conventional power system planning and operation frameworks were not designed to address. Wildfires provide a critical example: transmission outages and public safety power shutoffs can reduce network capacity while evacuation simultaneously concentrates charging demand along affected transportation corridors. Improving resilience therefore requires coordinated decision-making across the full disaster lifecycle, from infrastructure preparedness to emergency operation and post-disaster recovery.
This research develops optimization and decision-support methods for resilient power systems under large-scale transportation electrification, addressing three complementary stages of resilience. First, the research will extend existing infrastructure planning models through a two-stage stochastic mixed-integer programming framework for the strategic siting and sizing of distributed generation, energy storage systems, and EV charging infrastructure under disaster uncertainty. Second, building on a developed single-period nonlinear AC optimal power flow formulation, the research will extend the framework to multi-period operation to coordinate priority-based EV evacuation charging with mobile EV charger dispatch during grid contingencies while explicitly representing voltage and thermal operating constraints. Third, a mixed-integer routing and scheduling framework is proposed for the deployment of mobile energy resources, including energy tankers and vehicle-to-everything (V2X)-capable fleets, to support electric transportation and critical loads when conventional infrastructure is disrupted.
Together, these components connect long-term infrastructure planning, emergency grid operation, and post-disaster energy recovery within an integrated optimization and decision-support framework. The research will build on preliminary results obtained using IEEE benchmark systems and will incorporate California case studies representing wildfire and flooding scenarios. Resilience will be evaluated using technical and operational metrics such as load not served, priority-weighted EV energy served, and recovery time. The overall goal is to provide decision-support tools for utilities, transportation agencies, and emergency planners to support resilient planning, operation, and recovery in increasingly electrified energy and transportation systems.

Event Host: Saeed Aliamooei Lakeh, Ph.D. Student, Electrical & Computer Engineering

Advisors: Keith Corzine and Leila Parsa

Zoom: https://ucsc.zoom.us/j/95295718011?pwd=1Y5vBhoBX9V5OVQ3MJzy4FgyhtO9eb.1

Passcode: 545834