A decentralized P2P control scheme for trading accurate energy fragments in the power grid

Power balance in the grid relies on distributed generation (DG) from unpredictable sources forming part of the whole energy traded, and the big power plants guaranteeing stability. Nevertheless, as DG continues to grow, matching supply and demand efficiently becomes increasingly difficult. In the area of microgrids, this becomes a major challenge. The majority of existing research deals solely with preserving the stability of the power grid, while some studies have broadened their focus to include the issue of balancing supply and demand. The aim of this study is to present a solution to the power imbalance problem based on the idea of splitting the energy transaction into small energy fragments (EF), simultaneously generated by the producer and obtained by the consumer with such accuracy that the disturbances are negligible. To this end, a new control scheme is presented, where suppliers and customers take advantage of new technologies (ICT) in order to trade an agreed upon amount of energy with no impact on the power. The effect of the control algorithm on the power grid is evaluated through simulations conducted in a microgrid benchmark network, comparing performance with and without energy transactions. Furthermore, network protocol aspects are analyzed. The simulation results show improvements in grid performance such as reductions in both joule losses and voltage deviation. In conclusion, this improvement results in a reduction of both the utility company control effort, and the reserve power for balancing. Furthermore the avoidance of the need for a central organization, opens up scalability and facilitates a more open and competitive market.