Distributed or networked model predictive control (MPC) can provide a computationally efficient approach that achieves high levels of performance for plantwide control, where the interactions between processes can be determined from the information exchanged among controllers. Distributed controllers may exchange information at a lower rate to reduce the communication burden. A dissipativity-based analysis is developed to study the effects of low communication rates on plantwide control performance and stability. A distributed dissipativity-based MPC design approach is also developed to guarantee the plantwide stability and minimum plantwide performance with low communication rates. These results are illustrated by a case study of a reactor-distillation column network. (c) 2015 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 61: 3288-3303, 2015