Cooperative Distributed Demand Management for Community Charging of PHEV/PEVs Based on KKT Conditions and Consensus Networks

Efficient and reliable demand side management techniques for community charging of plug-in hybrid electrical vehicles (PHEVs) and plug-in electrical vehicles (PEVs) are needed, as large numbers of these vehicles are being introduced to the power grid. To avoid overloads and maximize customer preferences in terms of time and cost of charging, a constrained nonlinear optimization problem can be formulated. In this paper, we have developed a novel cooperative distributed algorithm for charging control of PHEVs/PEVs that solves the constrained nonlinear optimization problem using Karush–Kuhn–Tucker (KKT) conditions and consensus networks in a distributed fashion. In our design, the global optimal power allocation under all local and global constraints is reached through peer-to-peer coordination of charging stations. Therefore, the need for a central control unit is eliminated. In this way, single-node congestion is avoided when the size of the problem is increased and the system gains robustness against single-link/node failures. Furthermore, via Monte Carlo simulations, we have demonstrated that the proposed distributed method is scalable with the number of charging points and returns solutions, which are comparable to centralized optimization algorithms with a maximum of 2% sub-optimality. Thus, the main advantages of our approach are eliminating the need for a central energy management/coordination unit, gaining robustness against single-link/node failures, and being scalable in terms of single-node computations.