Decision Support Independence in a Smart Grid

We describe a novel framework for designing and implementing agent based simulations of the smart electrical grid. The framework is based on two primary concepts. First, the eletrical grid system is separated into semi-autonomous microgrids, each with their own set of hierarchically organized agents. Second, models for automating decision-making in the grid during crisis situations are independently supported. Advantages of this framework are scalablity, modularity, coordinated local and global decision making, and the ability to easily implement and test a large variety of decision models. We believe that simulators based on this kind of framework will be valuable for evaluating the effectiveness and reliability of alternative methodologies for configuring automated self-healing in the grid with little human intervetion. The primary achievement of work is the software design for directly supporting decision model independence. Keywords-Multi-agent Multi-agent System; SmartGrid; Distributed Computing; Intelligent Systems; Self-healing.