Modelling an electricity infrastructure as a multi-agent system - Lessons learnt from manufacturing control

Abstract

To model the control of an electricity infrastructure incorporating domestic level combined heat and power units (micro-CHP) a Multi-Agent System (MAS) approach is considered. This approach has already successfully been used to control manufacturing systems in the process industry. Because similarities between manufacturing and electricity generation exist it is interesting to investigate how a MAS methodology designed for manufacturing systems is applied to an electricity infrastructure. The interaction between energy companies and households is viewed here in a novel way, namely as a production process. By using an existing methodology for manufacturing control to design an agent-based controller for an electricity infrastructure, issues can be identified that have to be addressed in a control methodology specific for infrastructures. © 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.