Distributed model predictive load frequency control of a deregulated power system

This paper proposes a distributed load frequency control (LFC) scheme for a deregulated power system, that can give acceptable dynamic performance and good constraint handling capabilities. Firstly, a 4-area deregulated benchmark system, where each control area has a different rated capacity, is developed. The benchmark system includes measured (contracted) and unmeasured (uncontracted) disturbances. A non-cooperative distributed model predictive control (DMPC) algorithm is developed and tested on the benchmark system. The DMPC scheme is developed to operate using output feedback, where distributed observers using local measurements supply local controllers with state and unmeasured disturbance estimations. The DMPC here, unlike other noncooperative schemes, is simple and devoid of extensive offline parameter tuning. Some comparisons and discussions are provided between the DMPC and alternative model predictive control schemes.