INTEGRATED CONTROL OF NEXT GENERATION POWER SYSTEM

Control methodologies provide the necessary data acquisition, analysis and corrective actions needed to maintain the state of an electric power system within acceptable operating limits. These methods are primarily software-based algorithms that are nonfunctional unless properly integrated with system data and the appropriate control devices. Components of the control of power systems today include protective relays, supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA), distribution automation (DA), feeder automation, software agents, sensors, control devices and communications. Necessary corrective actions are still accomplished using large electromechanical devices such as vacuum, oil and gas-insulated breakers, capacitor banks, regulators, transformer tap changers, reclosers, generators, and more recently FACTS (flexible AC transmission system) devices. The recent evolution of multi-agent system (MAS) technologies has been reviewed and effort made to integrate MAS into next generation power systems. A MAS can be defined as “…a loosely-coupled network of problem solvers that work together to solve problems that are beyond their individual capabilities…”. These problem solvers, often called agents, are autonomous and may be heterogeneous in nature. This project has shown that a MAS has significant advantages over a single, monolithic, centralized problem solver for next generation power systems. Various communication media are being used in the electric power system today, including copper, optical fiber and power line carrier (PLC) as well as wireless technologies. These technologies have enabled the deployment of substation automation (SA) at many facilities. Recently, carrier and wireless technologies have been developed and demonstrated on a pilot basis. Hence, efforts have been made by this project to penetrate these communication technologies as an infrastructure for next generation power systems. This project has thus pursued efforts to use specific MAS methods as well as pertinent communications protocols to imbed and assess such technologies in a real electric power distribution system, specifically the Circuit of the Future (CoF) developed by Southern California Edison (SCE). By modeling the behavior and communication for the components of a MAS, the operation and control of the power distribution circuit have been enhanced. The use of MAS to model and integrate a power distribution circuit offers a significantly different approach to the design of next generation power systems. For example, ways to control a power distribution circuit that includes a micro-grid while considering the impacts of thermal constraints, and integrating voltage control and renewable energy sources on the main power system have been pursued. Both computer simulations and laboratory testbeds have been used to demonstrate such technologies in electric power distribution systems. An economic assessment of MAS in electric power systems was also performed during this project. A report on the economic feasibility of MAS for electric power systems was prepared, and particularly discusses the feasibility of incorporating MAS in transmission and distribution (T&D) systems. Also, the commercial viability of deploying MAS in T&D systems has been assessed by developing an initial case study using utility input to estimate the benefits of deploying MAS. In summary, the MAS approach, which had previously been investigated with good success by APERC for naval shipboard applications, has now been applied with promising results for enhancing an electric power distribution circuit, such as the Circuit of the Future developed by Southern California Edison. The results for next generation power systems include better ability to reconfigure circuits, improve protection and enhance reliability