Power distribution network management using networked control of timed discrete event systems

In this paper we investigate control and management of power distribution networks modeled as timed and networked discrete event systems. We assume that the controller (the supervisor) communicates with the system to be controlled via a shared communication network, and that this network experiences bounded delays and losses that impact the controller. Under these assumptions, the necessary and sufficient condition for the existence of a controller is expressed as network controllability and network observability, which we define in the paper. We apply these results to a power distribution network, the IEEE 33-node (bus) test system, where the objective is to ensure the total substation transformer power stays within the given safety limits.