Distributed Intelligence Load Control: Yes or No? A report prepared by the Load Management Subcommittee

This paper summarizes the key points of discussion raised during a panel session sponsored by the Power Systems Engineering Committee at the Summer Power Meeting in Los Angeles, July 17-22, 1983. The panel examined the trend in information processing toward distributed intelligence for decision making and the impact of this trend on load control programs. The question was raised, ``should this trend toward distributed intelligence in information processing be extended to load control?´´ A regulator noted that distributed intelligence could help provide rate options for controlling customer costs. A utility system operator said that some type of telecommunications link to any load controller was essential. A utility consultant said that distributed intelligence could improve the operating characteristics of existing centrally controlled systems. A utility research said that distributed intelligence load control programs would be more successful by being more sensitive to the variations in customers´ appliance use at negligible incremental cost.