Smart MAS restoration for distribution system with Microgrids

Fault Location, Isolation, and Restoration (FLIR) is the key concept of Distribution Automation (DA) in today's Smart Grid arena. A novel hybrid Multi Agent System (MAS) fault restoration solution has been proposed in this paper that uses both centralized and decentralized concepts for fault restoration on feeders with Microgrids. The main goal is to automatically reenergize un-faulted portions of feeders and restore power to as much as customers as possible while maintaining system constraints like voltage limits and loading levels. The proposed MAS concept is designed to be implemented on a couple of circuits in the territory of local utility, Mon Power, under the efforts of a DOE demonstration project named West Virginia Super Circuit (WVSC). The real distribution network is simulated in CYMDIST and Matlab/Simpower whereas the MAS is designed in Java Agent Development Framework (JADE). Simulation results show promising advantages of using proposed MAS solution for fault restoration using Microgrids.