Management of a smart grid with controlled-delivery of discrete power levels

Abstract

The present electrical grid uses two properties for the distribution of electrical power: perpetually energized and with discretionary access to power amounts. These two properties, although functional and practical, expose the grid to overload and consumption forecasting uncertainty. In addition, the distribution of electricity may be difficult to manage; sudden demand surge or supply shortage may ultimately lead to failures. To overcome this, we adopt a recently proposed approach whereby electricity is delivered in discrete amounts, through what is named here as a controlled-delivery power grid. In this grid, the customer's addresses are embedded in the electrical signal, and smart loads are used to limit the supplied electrical power. These smart loads not only control the consumed amount of power but also provide reactive stability to the distribution loop. We discuss an architecture of the controlled-delivery power grid and analyze a management scheme for the distribution of power, where the capacity of the distribution loop is capped to the average of the requested power, adopting a round-robin schedule of power deliverance. We show that the efficiency of power distribution satisfies over 98% of the power requests in such scenarios of energy scarcity.