  Distributed control strategies applied to power distribution control problems
are meant to offer robust and scalable integration of distributed energy
resources. However, the term "distributed control" is often loosely applied to
a variety of very different control strategies. This leads to problems in the
design phase as well as with the performance evaluation of such systems. This
paper develops a framework to assist the design and evaluation of distributed
control strategies, supported by a rigorous taxonomy of control strategies and
formal design criteria. The proposed framework and taxonomy are evaluated
against the state of the art of control strategies as found in literature.
