Multi-agent systems applied for restoration of power networks supported by micro grids

This paper presents a multi-agent-based system for the automatic restoration of power distribution networks supported by micro grids. The multi-agent automatic restoration system (MARS) is composed of eight types of agents: switch agents (AC), feeder agents (AL), tie switch agents (AE), connection point agent (APC), generation agent (AG), demand agent (AD), storage agent (AA), and dispatch generation agent (AGC). The agents work together in order to restore costumers load after a fault occurs in the utility power grid. The MARS was developed in JADE (Java Agent Development Framework), which is written in Java. Case studies are supposed to demonstrate the performance of the proposed MARS when applied to a medium-voltage power distribution network and a microgrid. The distribution network and the micro grid are modeled in Matlab-Simulink environment, while the communication tools between JADE and Simulink are also developed. Simulation results demonstrate that MARS presents a suitable performance, providing fast and reliable recovery of the power distribution network. It also evidences the capability of multi-agent system techniques in the automation and decision support of smart grids.