Demand Shaping to Achieve Steady Electricity Consumption with Load Balancing in a Smart Grid

TL;DR

This paper explores demand shaping strategies in smart grids to balance load and maintain steady electricity consumption, addressing conflicting goals of grid operators and consumers for improved efficiency.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach to demand shaping that aligns consumer demand with grid stability objectives, reducing the need for variable power generation.

Findings

Demand shaping can significantly reduce load variability.

Steady consumption improves grid efficiency and reduces operational costs.

Proposed methods outperform traditional demand management techniques.

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to study conflicting objectives between the grid operator and consumers in a future smart grid. Traditionally, customers in electricity grids have different demand profiles and it is generally assumed that the grid has to match and satisfy the demand profiles of all its users. However, for system operators and electricity producers, it is usually most desirable, convenient and cost effective to keep electricity production at a constant rate. The temporal variability of electricity demand forces power generators, especially load following and peaking plants to constantly manipulate electricity production away from a steady operating point.