Multi-Agent Schemes for Distribution Network Restoration in Future Smart Grids

Abstract

In the recent decades, the electricity sector has faced numerous challenges which have led to an imperative need for restructuring the power grid. This evolution is reflected in the development towards the smart grid, with the automation of the distribution network and the integration of distributed generation as well as the participation of consumers in the electricity market. New technologies are being increasingly investigated and adopted, as the conventional centralized approach may no longer provide effective and efficient operations. Multi-agent Systems have extensively been proposed for this purpose, as they constitute flexible and extensible hardware/software systems. One of the most important aspects of smart grids is their self-healing attribute, which allows to automatically and intelligently execute corrective actions in order to recover the system to its optimal state after a fault occurs. This is done through automatic fault location, isolation and service restoration (FLISR). The proper performance of each of the aforementioned steps is basically to minimize the number of affected consumers as well as the duration of outages, thus supporting reliability. This is a complex process that multi-agent systems can solve efficiently through the communication of high level information and the distribution of tasks between different agents. Thus, the current work focuses on developing a robust decentralized multi-agent system for distribution network restoration and to prove its benefits over other techniques. Two other methods were used for the sake of comparison: a centralized heuristic method and a decentralized method. The approaches of all techniques are outlined in detail, and the methods are then evaluated and compared through a simulation-based analysis.

Date of Award	May 2015
Original language	American English
Supervisor	Amer Al Hinai (Supervisor)