Integrating voltage control and power flow management in AuRA-NMS

AuRA-NMS is an autonomous regional active network management system currently being developed in the UK through a partnership between several UK universities, EDF Energy, ScottishPower and ABB. The scope of control to be undertaken by AuRA-NMS includes: automatic restoration, voltage control, power flow management and implementation of network performance optimisation strategies. Through the adoption of a novel active network management system architecture based on multi-agent system (MAS) technology, AuRA-NMS aims provide a flexible and extensible means of developing solutions for a range of different types of network. This paper introduces the AuRA-NMS concept, gives details of the hardware platform it will be implemented on, discusses the potential voltage control and power flow management techniques the system may employ and the use of MAS technology as a means of integrating those approaches.