Secured multilevel transactive energy market: Electrical-communication co-simulation

This paper proposes a transactive energy trading framework for an interconnected transmission-distribution grid, which is structured as a multi-level electricity market (MLEM) that integrates wholesale and local energy markets. The market is coordinated through iterative negotiations between the transmission system operator (TSO), distribution system operators (DSOs), and distributed energy resource operators (DEROs). At the distribution level, DEROs and consumers engage in peer-to-peer (P2P) energy transactions within a blockchain-secured framework, enabling distributed and flexible demand‒supply balancing. A decentralized market-clearing mechanism is proposed where the objective functions of the TSO, DSOs, and DEROs are decoupled and solved via the alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM). To support secure and efficient energy transactions, we model the blockchain-based P2P trading platform as a communication network in NS-3. This enables an in-depth co-simulation of the electrical and communication sectors, capturing network delays, packet transmissions, and consensus occurrence in the MLEM. The integrated simulation provides insights into both energy market operations and the reliability of blockchain-enabled energy transactions. Our framework enhances decentralized market coordination, improves security through blockchain, and ensures robust communication-aware energy trading.