A comparative analysis of decentralized power grid stabilization strategies

This paper reports on formal behavioral models of power grids with a substantial share of photovoltaic microgeneration. Simulation studies show that the current legislatory framework in Germany can induce frequency oscillations. This phenomenon is indeed recognized by the German Federal Network Agency responsible for overseeing the national power grids, and new regulations are currently being identified to counter this phenomenon. We study the currently valid proposal, and compare it with a set of alternative approaches that take up and combine ideas from communication protocol design, such as additive-increase/multiplicative-decrease known from TCP, and exponential backoff used in CSMA variations. We classify these alternatives with respect to their availability and goodput. The models are specified in the modeling language Modest, and simulated with the help of the modes simulator.