Power management, intelligent control and protection in micro-grids - a review

Micro-grid is defined as a local power network with distributed energy resources (DERs) as micro-power sources scattered throughout the supply area. For reliable and short range transmission of power, micro-power sources are controlled as standalone as well as grid-synchronized power sources. The idea is to design a resilient, efficient and cost effective infrastructure based on advanced communication and information technologies (ICT) to meet the needs of future energy demand and quality. As the grid is being modernized, the constraints in operation such as power fluctuations, voltage instabilities, frequency deviations, transition management and wide area monitoring must be addressed. Therefore, more advanced and robust control techniques are needed to deal with the complexity of modern power infrastructure. In this paper, a review of power management, intelligent control and protection techniques is presented for designing efficient, reliable and sustainable grid.