Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning for Power Grid Topology Optimization
This work addresses operational challenges in power grids due to increasing energy demands and renewable sources, but it is incremental as it builds on existing RL approaches.
The paper tackles the problem of managing large action spaces in power grid topology optimization by proposing a hierarchical multi-agent reinforcement learning framework, achieving competitive performance with single-agent RL methods.
Recent challenges in operating power networks arise from increasing energy demands and unpredictable renewable sources like wind and solar. While reinforcement learning (RL) shows promise in managing these networks, through topological actions like bus and line switching, efficiently handling large action spaces as networks grow is crucial. This paper presents a hierarchical multi-agent reinforcement learning (MARL) framework tailored for these expansive action spaces, leveraging the power grid's inherent hierarchical nature. Experimental results indicate the MARL framework's competitive performance with single-agent RL methods. We also compare different RL algorithms for lower-level agents alongside different policies for higher-order agents.