Cooperative minimization of power losses in smart micro grids with PLC system

We consider a smart micro grid where distributed energy resources (DERs) and loads are equipped with powerline communication (PLC) transceivers, and they exchange messages on their status to minimize line losses. We first compute the optimal current to be injected by each DER knowing all loads and DER behaviours. Then we obtain a distributed solution, that provides a good approximation of the optimal current using only a partial knowledge of the grid status, i.e., only the status of a subset of neighbouring DERs and loads. A token ring approach is proposed, where at any given time only one DER updates its current, in order to ensure the control stability. We compare the proposed solution with existing approaches showing its faster convergence to the optimal minimum power loss level. Furthermore, we assess the impact of the approximation due to partial grid status knowledge.