Multi-agent systems applied to reliability assessment of power systems

This paper discusses the development of a Multi-Agent Systems (MAS) technology-based platform with potential applications in management and simulation processes in power systems. In order to explore some of the features of MAS, a new methodology is proposed to assess power systems reliability based on Monte Carlo simulation (MCS), exploiting the benefits of the distributed artificial intelligence area and, mainly, the use of the distributed capacity in two ways: building autonomous behaviors to the applications and mitigating computational effort. Through the use of this technology, it was possible to divide the MCS algorithm into distinct tasks and submit them to the agents’ processing. Two different approaches to solve generating capacity reliability problems based on chronological MCS illustrate the potential of MAS in power systems reliability assessment.