A proposal to use real time pricing to manage the electrical grid as a step toward distributed control

An alternative method of managing the electrical grid is presented. Rather than using a centralized control paradigm to balance generation against the load, a distributed approach is proposed. It is believed that this design improves the robustness of the grid by using an architecture that allows for the automatic formation of local micro grids. The selforganization of these micro-grids makes it possible to identify participants in an ad hoc fashion after a storm for purposes of disaster recovery. The micro-grid can automatically grow to encompass all participants, and join with other grids to encompass the entire region.