Agent based automation for a smarter distribution grid

The increasing installation of decentralized generators at the low voltage level is rendered difficult through the lack of monitoring and control possibilities at this level. The operation of distribution grids therefore needs to be extended in order to include this grid section. This paper presents a new control strategy based on agents which allows for the decentralized and coordinated management of generators, storage and loads. To implement this strategy, this work introduces distributed automation algorithms which are studied using the electric grid simulation software DIgSILENT Power Factory extended with an external Java/C++ development interface. The algorithms are developed and tested using a steady-state distributed simulation, and first results thereof are presented.