Multi-layer agent-based architecture for smart grid reconfiguration

Smart grids are an essential tool for efficient management and monitoring of electric power. In this area, distributed programming techniques help to optimize the production and distribution of electrical energy in order to balance supply and demand to ensure better services. In this paper an agent-based distributed architecture for supervision and control of Smart Grids is proposed. The information comes from the equipment installed in the secondary substations of distribution networks of medium and low voltage. It is exchanged through a real-time middleware and processed through a multi-agent system. One of the most important tasks implemented in the multi-agent system focuses on fault detection and automatic network reconfiguration. This process allows minimizing power losses and loading balancing in the distribution network. To accomplish this task Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm is applied.