Demand response in radial distribution networks: Distributed algorithm

Demand response has recently become a topic of active research. Most of work however considers only the balance between aggregate load and supply, and abstracts away the underlying power network. In this paper, we study demand response in a radial distribution network, by formulating it as an optimal power flow problem that maximizes the aggregate user utilities and minimizes the supply cost and the power line losses, subject to the power flow constraints and operating constraints. We propose a fully distributed algorithm for the users to coordinate their demand response decisions through local communication with their neighbors so as to achieve the optimum. Numerical examples with the real-world distribution circuits are provided to complement our theoretical analysis.