A method is described for improving cooperation in supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems that uses multi-agent (MA) intelligent field terminals (IFTs). The MA function of each IFT evaluates the control conditions of the overall system and the conditions of the other IFTs. To shorten the turn-around time for data transfer among IFTs, the conflicts that occur when the data processed by different IFTs is inconsistent or irregular are cooperatively and autonomously resolved by predictive agents incorporated into each IFT. Experimental results showed that this method not only provides adequate control but also reduces the load on the network and the turn-around time when the number of IFTs is less than 30.