Laboratory Evaluation of Federated, Hierarchical Controls for Distribution Power System Management

The connection of more flexible loads, generation and storage to the distribution power system brings challenges, such as increased variability in net load profiles, and opportunities to system operators. There are opportunities to aggregate flexible loads, generation and storage to provide transmission grid services, but the coordinated actions of these distribution assets being managed by independent, third-party aggregators to support transmission system operations can present challenges to distribution system operations. We developed a federated management architecture and control framework that aims to manage heterogeneous assets to deliver reliable transmission grid services while respecting distribution system constraints. The controls include stochastic day-ahead optimization, model predictive control, and a simple real-time management scheme. We present simulation results obtained from a realistic laboratory test bed of federated controls managing distribution assets within a substation service area to make the substation net power follow the optimal net power determined by the day-ahead optimization.