A New Distributed Robust Power Control for Two-Layer Cooperative Communication Networks in Smart Grids with Reduced Utility Costs

The packet loss during transmission of load control commands can lead to regulation errors in the smart grid and increase the cost of utility agencies due to the purchase of additional automatic generation control (AGC) services. In this paper, a two-layer cooperative communication network between the utility company and relays is presented. The utility company rents the relay to assist with the downlink transmission to improve the reliability of communication and reduce the data transmission cost due to packet loss. Furthermore, the uncertainty of channel gain is considered, and a two-tier game model is established. A distributed robust power control algorithm based on the continuous convex approximation method is proposed to obtain the optimal relay power allocation and price. Through the simulation analysis of the proposed scheme and the two comparison schemes, the cost of the utility company was reduced by 6% and 21%, and the standard deviation of income value between the relays was reduced by 40% and 48%, respectively.