A new approach for multi-agent coalition formation and management in the scope of electricity markets

Abstract

This paper presents a new methodology for the creation and management of coalitions in Electricity Markets. This approach is tested using the multi-agent market simulator MASCEM, taking advantage of its ability to provide the means to model and simulate VPP (Virtual Power Producers). VPPs are repre-sented as coalitions of agents, with the capability of negotiating both in the market, and internally, with their members, in order to combine and manage their individual specific characteristics and goals, with the strategy and objectives of the VPP itself.The new features include the development of particular individual facilitators to manage the communications amongst the members of each coalition independently from the rest of the simulation, and also the mechanisms for the classification of the agents that are candidates to join the coalition.In addition, a global study on the results of the Iberian Electricity Market is performed, to compare and analyze different approaches for defining consistent and adequate strategies to integrate into the agents of MASCEM. This, combined with the application of learning and prediction techniques provide the agents with the ability to learn and adapt themselves, by adjusting their actions to the continued evolving states of the world they are playing in.K e y w o r d s :

Coalition of distributed generation units to Virtual Power Players - a game theory approach

“…Each VPP must assign a relative importance to each parameter, and define a specific weight for each one, allowing the players' classification. Depending of their goals and their market segment, VPPs can be classified in different types [25]. In the present approach six VPP types are considered, with the following characteristics:…”

“…Based in the classification process and in the negotiation history, this method allows determining the best negotiation strategy considering different negotiation scenarios. VPPs and DG are modelled as agents [8,23] in a multi-agent based electricity market simulator called MASCEM (Multi-Agent System for Competitive Electricity Markets) [25,29]. In MASCEM, each market player is a complex and autonomous entity with distinct objectives, purposes and behaviours, taking their own decisions.…”

An Interoperable Approach for Energy Systems Simulation: Electricity Market Participation Ontologies

“…Besides some JADE-specific agents, such as the Agent Management System (AMS) for platform management actions, the Directory Facilitator (DF) for yellow pages' services, and the Remote Monitoring Agent (RMA) for the user interface, among other useful tool agents, MASCEM's actual version only includes five types of agents [29]:  Main Agent, which, among others, enables the user's interaction with the system and distributes the agents by the available machines, considering its features and the agents' processing needs;  Management Information Base (MIB) Agent that is responsible for reading the management information base of each machine (using SNMP-Simple Network Management Protocol), creating a report and sending it to the Main Agent so that it can decide which agents will move to each machine; Figure 1. MASCEM main features, adapted from [14].…”

Distribution system operation supported by contextual energy resource management based on intelligent SCADA

“…Future SCADA must be designed to support multi-level decentralized decisions and actions. These are the result of smart and strategic behavior of the involved agents [10,14], including power suppliers, networks and consumers and also of smart components and control. A significant number of works is contributing to the diversity of new characteristics required for power system future SCADA systems and also evidencing challenges that they must face.…”

“…Future power systems will operate using the decentralized paradigm and also a re-aggregation philosophy, led by strategic coalitions [10].…”