Incremental cost consensus algorithm in a smart grid environment

In a next generation power system, effective distributed control algorithms could be embedded in distributed controllers to properly allocate electrical power among connected buses autonomously. In this paper, we present a novel approach to solve the economic dispatch problem. By selecting the incremental cost of each generation unit as the consensus variable, the algorithm is able to solve the conventional centralized control problem in a distributed manner. The row-stochastic matrices have been used to indicate the different topologies of distribution systems and their configuration properties, such as convergence speeds. The simulation results of several case studies are provided to verify the algorithm.