Formulation and Experimental Validation of Price-Based Control of Flexible Prosumers in Distribution Grids with the Alternating Direction Method of Multipliers

Abstract

This paper describes a method for computing price signals for prosumers, incentivizing them to adjust their consumption according to the constraints of the distribution grids to which they are connected, thereby preventing voltage violations and line congestion. The proposed method leverages an interpretation of the Alternating Direction Method of Multipliers (ADMM), which enables the extraction of a price signal to coordinate the operations of prosumers and the distribution grid's constraints while limiting the sharing of sensitive information among them. The method can be used by Distribution System Operators (DSOs) to dynamically adjust a pre-existing retail electricity tariff (e.g., a constant or time-of-use tariff), thereby triggering grid-support actions from prosumers. The method is validated experimentally in a 9-node low-voltage distribution grid laboratory with real components (lines and controllable power converters). The experiments validate the algorithm's performance in terms of convergence and operational efficiency, demonstrating its viability in a real-life setting.