ABSTRACT: The objective of this research is to develop distributed algorithms that can be used to automatically optimize power generation and load-shedding in an electrical microgrid. The approach rests on the observation that the power dispatch problem is similar to network utility maximization (NUM) problems that are used in communication network congestion control. A dual version of this problem can be used to reconfigure microgrid loads. This project uses a distributed barrier-method algorithm to solve the dispatch problem. The algorithm is implemented within a wireless sensor-actuator network. A novel feature of this algorithm is its use of event-triggered messaging as a means of reducing the network's communication traffic. This project is being conducted under the sponsorship of an industrial partner, Odyssian LLC. This company is developing microgrid technology in support of applications of interest to the Army Corps. of Engineers.