Proposed Architecture for Substation Local Master Station (LMS) based on Intelligent Agents: Challenges and Benefits

Multi-agent systems (MAS) is a novel technology that is being used in several fields of engineering. In environments where several decisions have to be made, the MAS is conformed by agents that utilize artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to support real time autonomous operation. This paper presents a proposed application of MAS in electrical substation automation and in distribution automation systems. These automation systems are formed, among other equipment, by the local master station (LMS): the computational system of the substation. The master station executes the control and central processing of the distribution networks or dispatch regional centers. In this kind of environments, multiple collaborative agents achieve their specific goals and cooperate to achieve the system goal. Specific activities carried out by the agents include the acquisition of information, communication transport information, data management and visualization functions. The acquisition is achieved from the substation equipment like remote terminal units (RTUs), meters, protections and relays (IEDs). This paper presents an overview of the principles underlying the intelligent agents' paradigm and the AI techniques that can be utilized to support collaborative agents in a substation environment. This paper also discusses the potential benefits of this approach over the traditional architectures as well as the foreseen challenges involved