Demand-side management of hierarchical energy distribution based on a joint intention protocol

One important concept of smart grids is the Demand side management (DSM), which enables peers to take decisions on their energy consumption and assists the energy providers in decreasing the peak load demand. Thus, the whole grid has its sustainability improved, while its overall operational cost and carbon emission levels are reduced. Most of the existing demand side management approaches use local strategies, such as heuristics and optimization algorithms, to carry out this management. However, these approaches are limited since they do not consider the state or needs of other components that compose the distribution network. This paper specifies a communication strategy that considers the grid peers as hierarchical agents, which exchange events by means of a joint intention protocol. Our focus is on the specification of the communication protocol and how it affects the management of energy demand plans in different hierarchical levels. A descriptive analysis is then carried out to stress the features and advantages of this approach.