## 7 Conclusions  
In this paper, we presented a conceptual study on a VPP architecture capable of implementing the management of DERs owned by prosumers participating in advanced DSM programs. Compared to classical VPP architectures, which aim to aggregate and virtualize several DERs dispersed throughout the electrical grid, and possibly owned by different prosumers, the proposed VPP architecture is limited to the physical domain of single users, i.e., to single PODs of the distribution network. According to this concept, the proposed VPP architecture aims to allow the integrated and coordinated implementation of different control and management strategies, including energy management, demand response capabilities, and ancillary services. With respect to centralized and hierarchical VPP control architectures, in this study the control perspective was moved from the system (or supervisory) level to the single prosumer's level, who is allowed to independently provide flexible power profiles through the aggregation of multiple DERs, including generators, storage units, and controllable loads. In this case, central distribution management systems are allowed to interact with smart prosumers by applying different DR requests without the need for modelling each energy asset in the prosumer's physical domain. In addition, this conveyance of \"responsibility\" from the supervisory level to local levels would also reduce the complexity of distribution grid management systems, thus improving the flexibility and resilience of system architectures in the face of the dynamic nature of modern UESs, which are characterized by an increased participation of small local prosumers. The VPP architecture is based on the design of multiple service-oriented agents, classified as physical agents, communication agents, and logical agents. Physical agents are used for the abstraction--in terms of estimation of the state and supervisory control functions--of the physical assets owned by the prosumer, while communication agents and logical agents are used, respectively, for the exchange of information within the system and with external entities, and for the intelligent management of the VPP. Three main automated and intelligent systems have been introduced and discussed, namely: the Energy Information System (EIS), which is the core of the information system of the VPP, the Energy Management System (EMS), which is responsible for the optimal operational planning of the VPP,and the DER Automated Controller (DER-AC), which is designed for the supervisory control of all of the virtualized DERs, and offers advanced real-time control capability and ancillary services. Four different forms of demand response requests have been considered, viz. Price-Based DRs, Reduction Bids, Incentive-Based DRs, and Event-Based DRs, thus covering both the normal operating functions and the emergency-based demand requests usually considered for the management of modern distribution networks. The management and control strategies implemented by the VPP architecture was then discussed with reference to each considered demand response form. The structure of the Energy Management System of the VPP has been described by defining the functions of its two main components, namely the Profile Generation Unit (PGU) and the Optimal Scheduling Unit (OSU). In the proposed architecture, the optimal working point of the VPP is computed by the OSU by selecting the desired options from all of the available power profiles provided by the PGU. For each physical entity, one or more profiles can be generated depending on the possible different configurations of the resource. This solution allows a generalized formulation of the optimization problem by transferring the complexity of the computation of feasible or expected power profiles to independent algorithms hosted by the PGU.