Distributed component-level modeling and control of energy dynamics in electric power systems

TL;DR

This paper introduces a distributed energy space modeling and control framework for modern power systems dominated by power electronic converters, enabling improved transient and steady-state performance.

Contribution

It generalizes energy-based modeling and control to heterogeneous, converter-rich power systems with provable convergence using local information.

Findings

Enhanced transient and steady-state performance in voltage and frequency regulation.

Reduced control effort compared to conventional methods.

Validated on inverter-controlled RLC circuit and synchronous generator examples.

Abstract

The widespread deployment of power electronic technologies is transforming modern power systems into fast, nonlinear, and heterogeneous networks. Conventional modeling and control approaches, rooted in quasi-static analysis and centralized architectures, are inadequate for these converter-dominated systems operating on fast timescales with diverse and proprietary component models. This paper adopts and extends a previously introduced energy space modeling framework grounded in energy conservation principles to address these challenges. We generalize the notion of a port interaction variable, which encodes energy exchange between interconnected components in a unified manner. A multilayered distributed control architecture is proposed in which dynamics of each component are lifted to a linear energy space through well-defined mappings. Distributed control with provable convergence guarantees is derived in energy space using only local states and minimal neighbor information communicated through port interactions. The framework is validated using two examples: voltage regulation in an inverter-controlled RLC circuit and frequency regulation of a synchronous generator. The energy-based controllers show improved transient and steady-state performance with reduced control effort compared to conventional methods.