Layer-Wise Evaluation of Hierarchical Distributed Control for Hybrid Alternating-Current and Direct-Current Microgrid Clusters Under Packet Loss and Forecast Uncertainty

Hybrid alternating-current/direct-current (AC/DC) microgrid clusters require coordinated battery use, reliable restoration, and economic scheduling under communication and forecast disturbances. This study evaluates a three-layer distributed architecture in a constructed three-microgrid system using public load, solar, and price data from the California Independent System Operator (CAISO). The primary layer combines energy ratings and state of charge (SOC) for discharge sharing. The secondary layer models zero-order-hold (ZOH) receiver memory and tests mean-square stability under independent and identically distributed (IID) packet losses. The tertiary layer uses the alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) for distributed model predictive control (DMPC) with forecast correction and matched initial and terminal battery inventories across benchmark methods. On the selected stress day, compared with a grid-only baseline, operating cost and peak grid import decrease by 11.65% and 3.30%, respectively, while imported energy increases by 1.31%. The realized-cost difference from the centralized reference is 0.0029%. Supplementary tests examine longer discharge periods, complete communication outages, and reduced-order cross-layer behavior. Persistent-load-step tests reveal a restoration limitation of the original secondary controller. An integral candidate restores the tested deviations under combined disturbances. These findings characterize layer-specific performance and limited cross-layer responses within tested models. Field readiness and seasonal generalization remain unverified.