Improving Efficiency in the Electricity Grid by a New Decentralized Control Scheme

Abstract

Nowadays, utility grids bear certain losses and inefficiencies. For example joule losses in transport lines, control effort when matching supply and demand, and difficulties in admitting intermittent power sources. This work presents a new scheme that palliates all of them, improving the efficiency of the grid. The scheme is focused on matching supply and demand in an end-to-end approach, turning the grid in an Internet of Energy where each user (producer or consumer) can buy or sell their energy without intermediaries at any time. The scheme establishes a decentralized control of the grid which means lower balance error and control effort. The access for intermittent power sources is opened up which foster distributed generation, therefore joule losses decrease. The requirements are a storage device for each user and the availability of ICT technologies. This contribution explains the scheme and analyzes its implementation.