Demand side integration in LV smart grids with multi-agent control system

•Load flexibility can be exploited with remote management.•Aggregators offer system services from load flexibility.•Hierarchical/decentralised control systems are better suited for LV applications.•Multi-agent control system for Demand Side Integration (DSI) is developed.•Massive capital expenditures for novel LV infrastructures are avoided or postponed.

The low-carbon society requires significant changes in the operation and planning of distribution systems. In order to exploit existing low voltage systems, Demand Side Integration is essential for offering services that increase security and quality of supply, improve energy efficiency and reduce the energy cost. In this paper, a decentralised multi-agent system (MAS) for the coordination of active demand and plug-in electric vehicles is proposed. The load Aggregator aggregates the demand to sellenergy and services by operating a Master Agent and independent Agents. The Master Agent coordinates independent Agents for moving demand to the most convenient hours without degrading power quality. All Agents use a combination of local and global data to perform the optimisation following the Nash's theory on games. The MAS does not require huge bidirectional information flows and is better suited than centralised systems to LV systems.