Cover
Vol. 22 No. 1 (2026)

Published: June 15, 2026

Pages: 435-449

Original Article

Local Frequency Restoration-Based Communication-Free Approach in Islanded Microgrids

Abstract

Reducing the dependency of the control system on communication in the microgrid increases the reliability and flexibility of an islanded microgrid. This paper presents a local secondary control approach to provide a fast response to power change and accurate frequency restoration. It is based on a control scheme that uses a secondary controller involving a time-controllable parameter for a Low pass filter. The high value of the time-varying parameter is placed to satisfy excellent performance regarding fast active power sharing, and the time-controllable parameter decreases after achieving power-sharing based on a time protocol to ensure accurate steady-state frequency restoration. This paper also describes the criteria for control parameter selection and stability analysis based on a precise modeling approach. The MATLAB environment is used to simulate and test the proposed control scheme, and the results have been obtained that show the validity and high performance of the proposed controller in terms of dynamic response to active power change and steady-state restoration under different operation conditions.

References

  1. M. Chandorkar, D. Divan, and R. Adapa, “Control of parallel connected inverters in stand-alone ac supply systems,” Conference Record of the 1991 IEEE Industry Applications Society Annual Meeting, pp. 1003–1009 vol.1, 1991.
  2. A. Jasim, B. Hani, A. Flah, V. Bolshev, and L. MIHETPOPA, “A new optimized demand management system for smart grid-based residential buildings adopting renewable and storage energies,” Energy Reports, vol. 9, pp. 4018–4035, 12 2023.
  3. A. M. Jasim, B. H. Jasim, H. Kraiem, and A. Flah, “A multi-objective demand/generation scheduling modelbased microgrid energy management system,” Sustainability, vol. 14, no. 16, 2022.
  4. B. Naji Alhasnawi, B. Hani, B. Sedhom, and J. Guerrero, “A new communication platform for smart ems using a mixed-integer-linear-programming,” Energy Systems, pp. 1–18, 07 2023.
  5. S. Hou, J. Chen, and G. Chen, “Distributed control strategy for voltage and frequency restoration and accurate reactive power-sharing for islanded microgrid,” SSRN Electronic Journal, 01 2022.
  6. I. Poonahela, S. Bayhan, H. Abu-Rub, M. Begovic, and M. Shadmand, “On droop-based voltage and frequency restoration techniques for islanded microgrids,” pp. 1–8, 10 2021.
  7. K. Feng and L. Chunhua, “Distributed hierarchical control for fast frequency restoration in vsg-controlled islanded microgrids,” IEEE Open Journal of the Industrial Electronics Society, vol. PP, pp. 1–11, 01 2022.
  8. I. Poonahela, A. Krama, S. Bayhan, U. Fesli, M. Shadmand, H. Abu-Rub, and M. Begovic, “Hierarchical model predictive droop control for voltage and frequency restoration in ac microgrids,” IEEE Open Journal of the Industrial Electronics Society, vol. PP, pp. 1–13, 01 2023.
  9. R. Jackson, S. Aizam, M. Benbouzid, S. Salimin, E. D. M. Khan, E. Garba, and E. Pathan, “A comprehensive motivation of multilayer control levels for microgrids: Synchronization, voltage and frequency restoration perspective,” Applied Sciences, vol. 10, p. 8355, 11 2020.
  10. J. A. Lopes, C. Moreira, and A. Madureira, “Defining control strategies for microgrids islanded operation,” Power Systems, IEEE Transactions on, vol. 21, pp. 916 – 924, 06 2006.
  11. A. Tsikalakis, “Centralized control for optimizing microgrids operation,” vol. 23, pp. 1 – 8, 08 2011.
  12. J. Guerrero, J. C. Vasquez, J. Alcala, L. Vicuna, and M. Castilla, “Hierarchical control of droop-controlled ac and dc microgrids—a general approach toward standardization,” Industrial Electronics, IEEE Transactions on, vol. 58, pp. 158 – 172, 02 2011.
  13. H. Liang, B. J. Choi, W. Zhuang, and X. Shen, “Stability enhancement of decentralized inverter control through wireless communications in microgrids,” Smart Grid, IEEE Transactions on, vol. 4, pp. 321–331, 03 2013.
  14. Q. Shafiee, J. Guerrero, and J. C. Vasquez, “Distributed secondary control for islanded microgrids-a novel approach,” Power Electronics, IEEE Transactions on, vol. 29, 01 2013.
  15. C. Stefanovic, T. Dragicevic, P. Popovski, J. C. Vasquez, and J. Guerrero, “Robust networked control scheme for distributed secondary control of islanded microgrids,” Industrial Electronics, IEEE Transactions on, vol. 61, 10 2014.
  16. L. Meng, X. Zhao, F. Tang, M. Savaghebi, T. Dragicevic, J. C. Vasquez, and J. Guerrero, “Distributed voltage unbalance compensation in islanded microgrids by using dynamic-consensus-algorithm,” IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, pp. 1–1, 01 2015.
  17. S. Liu, X. Wang, and P. Liu, “Impact of communication delays on secondary frequency control in an islanded microgrid,” IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, vol. 99, 11 2014.
  18. C. Ahumada, R. Cardenas, D. Saez, and J. Guerrero, “Secondary control strategies for frequency restoration in islanded microgrids with consideration of communication delays,” IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid, vol. 7, pp. 1–1, 08 2015.
  19. P. Mart´ı, M. Velasco, E. X. Mart´ın, L. Garc´ıa de Vicu˜na, J. Miret, and M. Castilla, “Performance evaluation of secondary control policies with respect to digital communications properties in inverter-based islanded microgrids,” IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid, vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 2192–2202, 2018.
  20. M. Shi, X. Chen, J. Zhou, Y. Chen, J. Wen, and H. He, “Frequency restoration and oscillation damping of distributed vsgs in microgrid with low bandwidth communication,” IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid, vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 1011–1021, 2021.
  21. A. K. Sahoo, K. Mahmud, M. Crittenden, J. Ravishankar, S. Padmanaban, and F. Blaabjerg, “Communication-less primary and secondary control in inverter-interfaced ac microgrid: An overview,” IEEE Journal of Emerging and Selected Topics in Power Electronics, vol. 9, no. 5, pp. 5164–5182, 2021.
  22. M. Hua, H. Hu, Y. Xing, and J. Guerrero, “Multilayer control for inverters in parallel operation without intercommunications,” IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics - IEEE TRANS POWER ELECT, vol. 27, pp. 3651–3663, 08 2012.
  23. Y. Wang, Y. Tan, Z. Chen, X. Wang, and Y. Tian, “A communication-less distributed voltage control strategy for a multi-bus ac islanded microgrid,” in 2014 International Power Electronics Conference (IPEC-Hiroshima 2014 - ECCE ASIA), pp. 3538–3545, 2014.
  24. A. Sahoo, M. Ciobotaru, and J. Ravishankar, “A novel communication-less frequency restoration technique in droop controlled inverter-based islanded ac microgrid,” in 2018 IEEE International Conference on Power Electronics, Drives and Energy Systems (PEDES), pp. 1–6, 2018.
  25. H. Xin, L. Zhang, Z. Wang, D. Gan, and K. P. Wong, “Control of island ac microgrids using a fully distributed approach,” IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 943–945, 2015.
  26. H. Xin, R. Zhao, L. Zhang, Z. Wang, K. P. Wong, and W. Wei, “A decentralized hierarchical control structure and self-optimizing control strategy for f-p type dgs in islanded microgrids,” IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 3–5, 2016.
  27. M. Kosari and S. H. Hosseinian, “Decentralized reactive power sharing and frequency restoration in islanded microgrid,” IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, vol. 32, no. 4, pp. 2901–2912, 2017.
  28. A. Jasim and B. Jasim, “Grid-forming and gridfollowing based microgrid inverters control,” Iraqi Journal for Electrical and Electronic Engineering, vol. 18, pp. 111–131, 06 2022.
  29. G. Chen, F. L. Lewis, E. N. Feng, and Y. Song, “Distributed optimal active power control of multiple generation systems,” IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, vol. 62, no. 11, pp. 7079–7090, 2015.
  30. A. Jasim, B. Hani, V. Bureˇs, and P. Mikulecky, “A new decentralized robust secondary control for smart islanded microgrids,” Sensors, vol. 22, p. 8709, 11 2022.
  31. N. Lakshminarasamma, S. Augustine, and M. Mishra, “Control of photovoltaic-based low-voltage dc microgrid system for power sharing with modified droop algorithm,” IET Power Electronics, vol. 9, 03 2016.
  32. J. Yu, C. Dou, and X. Li, “Mas-based energy management strategies for a hybrid energy generation system,” IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, vol. 63, no. 6, pp. 3756–3764, 2016.
  33. B. Naji Alhasnawi, B. Hani, B. Sedhom, and J. Guerrero, “Consensus algorithm-based coalition game theory for demand management scheme in smart microgrid,” Sustainable Cities and Society, vol. 74, p. 103248, 08 2021.
  34. B. N. Alhasnawi, B. H. Jasim, W. Issa, and M. D. Esteban, “A novel cooperative controller for inverters of smart hybrid ac/dc microgrids,” Applied Sciences, vol. 10, no. 17, 2020.
  35. B. Naji Alhasnawi and B. Hani, “A new internet of things enabled trust distributed demand side management system,” Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments, vol. 46, p. 101272, 08 2021.
  36. M. Castilla, J. Miret, J. Matas, L. Garcia de Vicuna, and J. M. Guerrero, “Control design guidelines for single-phase grid-connected photovoltaic inverters with damped resonant harmonic compensators,” IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, vol. 56, no. 11, pp. 4492–4501, 2009.
  37. B. Ning, Q.-L. Han, and L. Ding, “Distributed secondary control of ac microgrids with external disturbances and directed communication topologies: A fullorder sliding-mode approach,” IEEE/CAA Journal of Automatica Sinica, vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 554–564, 2021.
  38. H. Shi, F. Zhuo, H. Yi, F. Wang, D. Zhang, and Z. Geng, “A novel real-time voltage and frequency compensation strategy for photovoltaic-based microgrid,” IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, vol. 62, no. 6, pp. 3545–3556, 2015.
  39. B. A. Moser and T. Natschl¨ager, “On stability of distance measures for event sequences induced by level-crossing sampling,” IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing, vol. 62, no. 8, pp. 1987–1999, 2014.