SGER: Cooperative Control: New Alternatives for the Second Wave of the Power System Revolution

这是一个关于一个未经测试的新想法的初步工作的提议：使用自主的，合作的代理来控制未来的电力系统。在当今的电力系统中，控制器是按层次结构排列的。高电平控制器调节低电平控制器的设定点。但是控制器不允许进行合作（交互）。也就是说，控制者不能互相帮助，把工作做得更好。具体来说，没有两个控制器可以在同一时间段内调整任何系统变量的值。采取这种预防措施是为了尽量减少不稳定的风险。任何控制问题都可以表述为优化问题。这一建议的作者已经表明，收敛到优化问题的好解是某些自治智能体混合的紧急行为，并且当智能体被允许以某种方式合作时，可以获得更好的解。这意味着，如果这些控制器以正确的方式合作，可以通过自主控制器实现对电力系统的更有效控制。建议的工作是为这一想法提供概念验证，并确定将提供控制优势的合作形式。如果成功，这项工作将开辟一个新的研究领域——协同控制，并在大幅度改变电力系统控制方式方面迈出第一步。新兴的硬件技术，如柔性交流传输系统、电力存储和燃料电池，使协同控制成为可能。其中许多技术已经处于演示阶段。一旦它们进入部署阶段，再引入新的控制技术可能就太晚了。因此，当务之急是立即对协同控制思想进行初步研究。＊＊＊

9615599 Talukdar This is a proposal to do preliminary work on an untested and novel idea: to use autonomous, cooperating agents to control future electric power systems. In today's power systems, controllers are arranged in hierarchy. Controllers in higher levels adjust the set points of controllers in lower levels. But the controllers are not allowed to cooperate (interact). That is, controllers cannot help one another to do a better job. Specifically, no two controllers can adjust the value of any system variable in the same time frame. This precaution is taken to minimize the risk of instability. Any control problem can be formulated as an optimization problem. The authors of this proposal have shown that convergence to good solutions of optimization problems is an emergent behavior of certain mixes of autonomous agents, and much better solutions are obtained when the agents are allowed to cooperate in certain ways. The implication is that much more effective control of power systems could be achieved by autonomous controllers, provided these controllers cooperate in the right way. The proposed work is to provide a proof-of-concept for this idea and identify the forms of cooperation that would provide control advantages. If successful, this work will open a new research area--cooperative control--and take the first step in dramatically changing the way power systems are controlled. Emerging hardware technologies, such as flexible AC transmission systems, electric storage, and fuel cells, make cooperative control feasible. Many of these technologies are already in the demonstration stage. Once they reach the deployment stage, it will probably be too late to introduce a new control technique. Therefore, it is imperative that the preliminary investigation of the idea of cooperative control be undertaken immediately. ***