Swarm-based automation of electrical power distribution and transmission system support

The increasing amount of distributed energy resources installed in distribution systems imposes new challenges on the operation and control of both distribution and transmission systems. At the same time, most distributed energy resources have the potential to support grid operation, e.g. as reactive power suppliers. To exploit these capabilities, a flexible and scalable control approach capable of dealing with large numbers of heterogeneous components is required. Many approaches are either distribution or transmission oriented and neglect the interests or constraints of the other side. Furthermore, the drawbacks of classical centralised control are often ignored. This study presents SwarmGrid-X, an agent-based control concept that considers the structure, demands and capabilities of components in the distribution system and the power requirements of the transmission system at the point of common coupling. Agents control components autonomously and determine control decisions in a decentralised way. They cooperate in swarms to achieve a common system goal while information and power flow are kept as local as possible. The cooperative nature of SwarmGrid-X transforms the distribution system into a cyber-physical power system. This study explains how SwarmGrid-X enables cyber-physical interactions of components to automate electrical power distribution and support the transmission system.