Grid-SiPhyR: An end-to-end learning to optimize framework for combinatorial problems in power systems

Abstract: Mixed integer problems are ubiquitous in decision making, from discrete device settings and design parameters, unit production, and on/off or yes/no decision in switches, routing, and social networks. Despite their prevalence, classical optimization approaches for combinatorial optimization remain prohibitively slow for fast and accurate decision making in dynamic and safety-critical environments with hard constraints. To address this gap, we propose SiPhyR (pronounced: cipher), a physics-informed machine learning framework for end-to-end learning to optimize for combinatorial problems. SiPhyR employs a novel physics-informed rounding approach to tackle the challenge of combinatorial optimization within a differentiable framework that has certified satisfiability of safety-critical constraints. We demonstrate the effectiveness of SiPhyR on an emerging paradigm for clean energy systems: dynamic reconfiguration, where the topology of the electric grid and power flow are optimized so as to maintain a safe and reliable power grid in the presence of intermittent renewable generation. Offline training of the unsupervised framework on representative load and generation data makes dynamic decision making via the online application of Grid-SiPhyR computationally feasible.