Abstract
Load management (LM) is being recognized as an important option for active user participation in the energy market. Traditional LM methods usually require a centralized powerful control center and a two-way communication network between the system operators and energy end-users. The increasing user participation in smart grids may limit their applications. In this paper, a distributed solution for LM in emerging smart grids is proposed. The LM problem is formulated as a constrained optimization problem aiming at maximizing the overall utility of users while meeting the requirement for load reduction requested by the system operator, and is solved by using a distributed dynamic programming (DDP) algorithm. The algorithm is implemented via a distributed framework and thus can deliver a highly desired distributed solution. It avoids the required use of a centralized coordinator or control center, and can achieve satisfactory outcomes for LM. Simulation results with various test systems demonstrate its effectiveness.