Evolution of communication and control for electric grid load management

We discuss the evolving role of communication and control for automatic load management in electric distribution systems. We start by reprising a description of the Athens project - one of the earliest deployed examples of automatic load management at consumers enabled by communication signals. We observe that the use of communication for such systems has gone through distinct phases in its evolution addressing emerging requirements (some mandated by policy) for system reliability. The present day needs for increased smarts in the grid motivate integrated simulations of communications and control with electric grid behavior. We support this argument with a simulation case study illustrating how load management depends on the overlying communication system parameters when it provides frequency regulation in the electric grid.