Distributed Plug-and-Play Optimal Generator and Load Control for Power System Frequency Regulation

A distributed control scheme, which can be implemented on generators and controllable loads in a plug-and-play manner, is proposed for power system frequency regulation. The proposed scheme is based on local measurements, local computation, and neighborhood information exchanges over a communication network with an arbitrary (but connected) topology. In the event of a sudden change in generation or load, the proposed scheme can restore the nominal frequency and the reference inter-area power flows, while minimizing the total cost of control for participating generators and loads. Power network stability under the proposed control is proved with a relatively realistic model which includes nonlinear power flow and a generic (potentially nonlinear or high-order) turbine-governor model, and further with firstand second-order turbine-governor models as special cases. In simulations, the proposed control scheme shows a comparable performance to the existing automatic generation control (AGC) when implemented only on the generator side, and demonstrates Preprint submitted to Journal of Electrical Power & Energy Systems September 19, 2017 better dynamic characteristics that AGC when each scheme is implemented on both generators and controllable loads.