Stable operation of the future electrical power system will require efficient techniques for supply-demand balancing, i.e., load-frequency control, due to liberalization of electrical energy production. Currently, there is a growing interest for asymptotically stabilizing the grid frequency via model predictive control (MPC). However, the centralized implementation of standard MPC is hampered by the scale and complexity of power networks. In this paper we therefore evaluate the suitability of a scalable, distributed Lyapunovbased MPC algorithm as an alternative to conventional balancing techniques. The approach is particularly suited for largescale power networks, as it employs only local information and limited communication between direct...