AMI Based Communication Scheme for Decentralized Volt/VAR Control

With the recent introduction of smart inverters to provide reactive power (VAR) support, the number of voltage support devices on the distribution system is expected to increase. However, integrating these devices with current centralized volt/var schemes is challenging due to increased real-time data requirements. This paper investigates the use of two communication schemes for implementing a decentralized volt-var control scheme that can manage smart inverters along with traditional voltage regulation devices using the existing automatic metering infrastructure (AMI). A design guide is proposed to help with the placement of additional collectors needed for Volt/VAR, and the latency in communication is utilized to assess the performance of the two schemes using the IEEE 123 Node prototype system.