Telemetry-Robust Safe Zero-Shot Graph Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning for Active Voltage Control Across Distribution Feeders

Active voltage control in distribution networks depends on a sensing–decision–actuation chain that must remain effective as feeder topology, inverter participation, and telemetry quality change. Most multi-agent reinforcement learning controllers retain feeder-specific observation and action interfaces, and their behavior under imperfect telemetry is rarely tested under whole-graph transfer. This paper proposes GRAS-AVC, which is a zero-shot graph actor–critic framework with a permutation-equivariant shared actor, variable-size twin graph critics, droop-residual actions, and deployment-time AC power-flow risk screening. The 322-bus target feeder contributes no replay, gradient updates, risk fitting, or checkpoint selection. On an independent third-year ten-day test, GRAS-AVC reduces violating bus–time pairs from 7.455% under droop control to 2.723% (63.5% relative reduction). Against a matched edge-conditioned Graph-TD3 backbone, the GRAS actor lowers pooled exposure from 9.239% to 4.027%; after identical screening, GRAS-AVC lowers it from 3.896% to 2.723% while triggering 15.89 percentage points less often. Across information-matched tests spanning reconstructed missing telemetry, graph-correlated errors, gross bad data, a one-step delay, compound stress, and 50 paired announced reconfigurations, the frozen system maintains 63.1–63.6% droop-relative reductions and improves bus–time exposure in every seed. A selector-model audit records no false acceptance across 40 exact-and-bounded-mismatch condition–seed evaluations. GRAS-AVC therefore couples topology-aware policy inference with auditable physical screening for scalable sensing-to-control operation in DER-rich distribution networks.

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Publication Details

Journal
Sensors
Published
2026-09-10
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/s26185752
Primary Topic
Optimal Power Flow Distribution
Type
article
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article

Telemetry-Robust Safe Zero-Shot Graph Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning for Active Voltage Control Across Distribution Feeders

Boyin Jin, Shang Zheng, Yun Zhang, Siqi Sun et al.
Sensors
Optimal Power Flow Distribution
article

Telemetry-Robust Safe Zero-Shot Graph Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning for Active Voltage Control Across Distribution Feeders

Boyin Jin, Shang Zheng, Yun Zhang, Siqi Sun, Hualong Yu
article en

Abstract

Active voltage control in distribution networks depends on a sensing–decision–actuation chain that must remain effective as feeder topology, inverter participation, and telemetry quality change. Most multi-agent reinforcement learning controllers retain feeder-specific observation and action interfaces, and their behavior under imperfect telemetry is rarely tested under whole-graph transfer. This paper proposes GRAS-AVC, which is a zero-shot graph actor–critic framework with a permutation-equivariant shared actor, variable-size twin graph critics, droop-residual actions, and deployment-time AC power-flow risk screening. The 322-bus target feeder contributes no replay, gradient updates, risk fitting, or checkpoint selection. On an independent third-year ten-day test, GRAS-AVC reduces violating bus–time pairs from 7.455% under droop control to 2.723% (63.5% relative reduction). Against a matched edge-conditioned Graph-TD3 backbone, the GRAS actor lowers pooled exposure from 9.239% to 4.027%; after identical screening, GRAS-AVC lowers it from 3.896% to 2.723% while triggering 15.89 percentage points less often. Across information-matched tests spanning reconstructed missing telemetry, graph-correlated errors, gross bad data, a one-step delay, compound stress, and 50 paired announced reconfigurations, the frozen system maintains 63.1–63.6% droop-relative reductions and improves bus–time exposure in every seed. A selector-model audit records no false acceptance across 40 exact-and-bounded-mismatch condition–seed evaluations. GRAS-AVC therefore couples topology-aware policy inference with auditable physical screening for scalable sensing-to-control operation in DER-rich distribution networks.

SensorsVol. 26(18)
Jiangsu University of Science and Technology (CN)
Peace, Justice and strong institutions
Openalex Percentile: Top 20%
Optimal Power Flow Distribution
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