Intelligent central energy management system for remote community microgrid

South Africa´s rural communities experience limited electrical power availability; networks are sparse. Electricity suppliers do not cover all national rural regions often major areas of the African continent also suffer. Rural communities need an electrical supply where they reside. The high cost of transporting power remains a limiting factor. Electricity suppliers face difficulty in funding required constant expansion onto a national utility power grid. Communities are often widespread and usually in the most isolated corners of any country. Manpower skills shortages and a lack of infrastructure management and control lead to unresolved power issues. Within microgrids, a limited amount of energy can be stored by designated source holders, such as batteries. Microgrid technologies, constantly under study, are implemented globally via different concept designs. Because of the ever-growing size of such grids and a limited energy absorbing capability of the systems from natural resources, energy management within microgrids is under scrutiny. This study focuses on energy management within a microgrid. Software simulations were made using Simulink/Matlab/SimPowerSystems. Parameters were adjusted on the grid to observe control reaction. A Stokvel charge share concept was proposed, wherein state of batteries´ charges and user consumption determined how grid loads should be controlled.