Networked Control of Electric Vehicles for Power System Frequency Regulation with Random Communication Time Delay

Electric vehicles (EVs) can have noteworthy impact on power system dynamic performance. This paper develops two novel controllers which can take into account the random time delay in the communication channel of the control system. With the designed robust controller, the system can utilize EVs to participate in automatic generation control (AGC) processes so as to assist conventional thermal power units to respond rapidly and accurately to load fluctuations, as well as to enhance the capability of a power system to accommodate renewable energy forms such as wind power. Owing to the distributed nature of EVs, a networked control scheme for EVs’ participation in frequency regulation is first proposed in the paper. A closed-loop block diagram, which incorporates EVs and wind power, is then developed. Two controllers are then designed based on rigorous linear matrix inequalities (LMI) theory to ensure the robustness and stability of the system. Finally, comprehensive case studies based on a two-area equivalent of the IEEE 39-bus test system are performed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methods.