Impact of DER Communication Delay in AGC: Cyber-Physical Dynamic Simulation

TL;DR

This paper investigates how communication delays in distributed energy resources affect grid stability, using a cyber-physical simulation model to determine delay thresholds for maintaining stability.

Contribution

It develops a novel simulation framework based on HELICS to analyze the impact of communication delays on DER frequency regulation stability.

Findings

Increased communication delay raises instability risk.

Delay thresholds vary with system parameters.

Simulation provides feasible delay ranges for stable operation.

Abstract

Distributed energy resource (DER) frequency regulations are promising technologies for future grid operation. Unlike conventional generators, DERs might require open communication networks to exchange signals with control centers, possibly through DER aggregators; therefore, the impacts of the communication variations on the system stability need to be investigated. This paper develops a cyber-physical dynamic simulation model based on the Hierarchical Engine for Large-Scale Co-Simulation (HELICS) to evaluate the impact of the communication variations, such as delays in DER frequency regulations. The feasible delay range can be obtained under different parameter settings. The results show that the risk of instability generally increases with the communication delay.