On Cyber-Physical Coupling and Distributed Control in Smart Grids

This article focuses on characterizing the impact of communication on distributed control performance in smart grid systems. Using a cyber-physical model of the smart grid and utilizing electromechanical wave propagation in transmission systems, a holistic approach is proposed to unify cyber-physical coupling representation. This is facilitated by establishing an event-propagation paradigm relating measurements, distributed control and the physical power systems network characteristics. We investigate how power system characteristics impose limitations on distributed control performance using the proposed approach. The proposed approach is then used to derive fundamental communication delay limits for effective distributed control, and comparative analysis of distributed control performance is investigated for example distributed control scenarios.