Communication-Based Decentralized Demand Response for Smart Microgrids

Demand response (DR) is one of the most promising solutions to efficient control of smart grids with renewable energy resources. Usually, DR programs are implemented by means of centralized control by power supply companies or independent system operators. In contrast, recently, the focus has been on decentralized control to enhance the efficient use of distributed energy resources especially on microgrids. This paper proposes a decentralized control system for DR. The key of the proposed method is a new decentralized algorithm for determining appropriate control signals (corresponding to prices and/or incentives) by using communication networks provided by smart meters. The effectiveness of the proposed method is illustrated by a numerical example.