Many utilities implement the financial incentive plans in promoting their Demand-Side Management (DSM) programs. The plans are intended to reduce the customer investment cost for a high efficiency equipment option, so that to make the investment more attractive. Despite its potential to increase customer participation, the financial incentives could cause a considerable increase in program cost to the utility. An analysis of financial incentive impact on the utility DSM program is conducted in this thesis. The analysis uses the combination of the customer participation modeling and the cost-benefit analysis of a DSM program. A modeling of customer participation by a discrete choice model is presented. The model uses the logistic probability functions. The benefit and cost of DSM programs are explored to develop the analysis methodology. Two typical energy conservation options of DSM programs are taken for case studies to demonstrate the analysis. The analysis is also conducted to see the effect of financial incentives on the performance of DSM programs in a fluctuating marginal energy cost. The result of this research shows that the financial incentive could induce the customer participation, thus provide an increase of benefit and costs. However, this research also reveals that, in certain circumstances, the financial incentive may result in a decrease of net benefit due to significant increase of cost. These imply that utilities must carefully evaluate the financial incentive plan in their DSM programs, before the programs are implemented. / Master of Science

Electric power systems are undergoing a paradigm shift where an increasing number of variable renewable energy resources such as wind and solar power are being introduced to all levels of existing power grids. At the same time consumers are gaining a more active role where self energy production and home automation solutions are no longer uncommon. This challenges traditional power systems which were designed to serve as a centralized top-down solution for providing electricity to consumers. Demand response has risen as a promising solution to cope with some of the challenges that this shift is creating. In this thesis, control and scheduling studies using demand response, and consumer load models adapted to environments similar to Sweden are proposed and evaluated. The studies use model predictive control approaches for the purpose of providing ancillary and financial services to electricity market actors using thermal flexibility from detached houses. The approaches are evaluated on use-cases using data from Sweden for the purpose of reducing power imbalances of a balance responsible player and congestion management for a system operator. Simulations show promising results for reducing power imbalances by up to 30% and managing daily congestion of 5-19 MW using demand response. Moreover, a consumer load model of an office building is proposed using a gray-box modeling approach combining physical understanding of buildings with empirical data. Furthermore, the proposed consumer load model along with a similar model for detached houses are packaged and made freely available as MATLAB applications for other researchers and stakeholders working with demand response. The applications allow the user to generate synthetic electricity load profiles for heterogeneous populations of detached houses and office buildings down to 1-min resolution. The aim of this thesis has been to summarize and discuss the main highlights of the included articles. The interested reader is encouraged to investigate further details in the second part of the thesis as they provide a more comprehensive account of the studies and models proposed. / <p>QC 20171011</p>

Yes / In the UK there is no real time retail market, and hence no real time retail electricity pricing. Therefore domestic electricity consumers in the UK pay electricity prices that do not vary from hour to hour, but are rather some kind of average price. Real time pricing information was identified as a barrier to understanding the effectiveness of various incentives and interventions. The key question is whether we can evaluate energy management and renewable energy intervention in the behaviour of customers in real market terms. Currently only behaviour changes with respect to total consumption can be evaluated. Interventions cannot be defined for peak load behaviour. The effectiveness of the introduction of renewable energy is also hard to assess. Therefore, it is hard to justify introducing of renewable and demand side management at local community level, apart from when following government approved schemes, subsidies, and other initiatives. In this paper, a new criteria has been developed to help developers and planners of local residential communities to understand the cost of intervention, in order to evaluate where the load is when the prices are high.

This dissertation presents a comprehensive investigation into the performance optimization of a smart energy system called the Integrated Community Energy and Harvesting (ICE-Harvest) system, designed to optimize energy utilization in dense communities in cold climates. This system comprises a single-pipe variable-temperature micro-thermal network, a micro-electrical network, and distributed energy resources such as combined heat and power units, boilers, heat pumps, short-term storage systems, and long-term storage system. The objective of this research is to develop an optimal operation strategy for the system, considering the coordination of its components to realize its full potential including achieving demand management while ensuring occupants' comfort, harvesting and sharing waste energy, and facilitating energy arbitrage and taking advantage of energy price fluctuations, among other benefits. For this aim, the study begins by formulating precise quasi-dynamic mathematical representations of the system, considering the physical and operational limitations to capture the system's intricacies. The resultant optimization problem is a mixed integer nonlinear programming model that commercial solvers could not solve. To make the nonlinear models more tractable and solvable, various mathematical techniques are employed to linearize them. It is worth noting that many of these formulations are original contributions to the field. Given the specific configuration of the system with components requiring short-term and long-term operation scheduling and the large-scale nature of the optimization problem, a decomposition algorithm is proposed that breaks down the problem into three sequential layers: long-term, short-term, and ultra-short-term. Each layer addresses specific planning horizons, time resolutions, and optimization models, enabling effective optimization of the system's operation. The proposed optimization algorithm offers an effective framework for planning and optimizing ICE-Harvest operation at various time horizons and resolutions. It demonstrates the system's flexibility in performing waste energy harvesting and sharing, demand management, and dynamic switching between energy carriers based on real-time prices. / Dissertation / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / This dissertation aims to develop an energy management system for an integrated smart energy system, called integrated community energy and harvesting (ICE-Harvest). The ICE-Harvest system is envisioned as the future of energy systems for dense com munities in cold climates. This system comprises a single-pipe variable-temperature micro-thermal network, a micro-electrical network, and distributed energy resources. The goal is to coordinate all the variables and assets so that the system’s capabilities in harvesting waste energy to offset the community’s thermal demands, performing demand management without affecting occupants’ comfort, and realizing energy arbi trage are realized. For this aim, a hierarchical decision-making framework is developed in which three sequential layers are integrated. The three layers determine the long term, short-term, and ultra-short-term optimal operation of the ICE-Harvest system. The layers are differentiated by their objective, planning horizon, time resolution, and optimization models.

No description available.

To mitigate the technical challenges faced by the next-generation smart power grid, in this thesis, novel frameworks are developed for optimizing energy management and trading between power companies and grid consumers, who own renewable energy generators and storage units. The proposed frameworks explicitly account for the effect on demand-side energy management of various consumer-centric grid factors such as the stochastic renewable energy forecast, as well as the varying future valuation of stored energy. In addition, a novel approach is proposed to enhance the resilience of consumer-centric energy trading scenarios by analyzing how a power company can encourage its consumers to store energy, in order to supply the grid’s critical loads, in case of an emergency. The developed energy management mechanisms advance novel analytical tools from game theory, to capture the coupled actions and objectives of the grid actors and from the framework of prospect theory (PT), to capture the irrational behavior of consumers when faced with decision uncertainties. The studied PT and game-based solutions, obtained through analytical and algorithmic characterization, provide grid designers with key insights on the main drivers of each actor’s energy management decision. The ensuing results primarily characterize the difference in trading decisions between rational and irrational consumers, and its impact on energy management. The outcomes of this thesis will therefore allow power companies to design consumer-centric energy management programs that support the sustainable and resilient development of the smart grid by continuously matching supply and demand, and providing emergency energy reserves for critical infrastructure. / Master of Science

Vor dem Hintergrund der Transformation der Energiewirtschaft wird in der Arbeit untersucht, wie eine prämienbasierte Nachfragesteuerung im Bereich der Haushaltskunden ausgestaltet werden kann, welche sowohl einen Beitrag zur Gewährleistung der Versorgungssicherheit leistet als auch für die beteiligten Akteure wirtschaftlich attraktiv ist. Zur Beantwortung der Fragestellung werden im theoretischen Teil der Arbeit die relevanten Aspekte der Stromwirtschaft, die Grundlagen der Nachfragesteuerung, die Preiselastizität der Nachfrage, die bestehenden Verfahren zur Initiierung von Lastveränderungen sowie Ansätze zur Ermittlung des Werts von der Versorgung mit elektrischer Leistung systematisch beschrieben. Aufbauend auf diesen theoretischen Grundlagen werden anschließend die konzeptionellen Anforderungen für die Ausgestaltung der Nachfragesteuerung erarbeitet, d. h. die Rahmenbedingungen analysiert, darauf aufbauend die Spezifikation für den Einsatz der Nachfragesteuerung vorgenommen und Vorgaben für die Produktgestaltung gemacht.

Vor dem Hintergrund der Transformation der Energiewirtschaft wird in der Arbeit untersucht, wie eine prämienbasierte Nachfragesteuerung im Bereich der Haushaltskunden ausgestaltet werden kann, welche sowohl einen Beitrag zur Gewährleistung der Versorgungssicherheit leistet als auch für die beteiligten Akteure wirtschaftlich attraktiv ist. Zur Beantwortung der Fragestellung werden im theoretischen Teil der Arbeit die relevanten Aspekte der Stromwirtschaft, die Grundlagen der Nachfragesteuerung, die Preiselastizität der Nachfrage, die bestehenden Verfahren zur Initiierung von Lastveränderungen sowie Ansätze zur Ermittlung des Werts von der Versorgung mit elektrischer Leistung systematisch beschrieben. Aufbauend auf diesen theoretischen Grundlagen werden anschließend die konzeptionellen Anforderungen für die Ausgestaltung der Nachfragesteuerung erarbeitet, d. h. die Rahmenbedingungen analysiert, darauf aufbauend die Spezifikation für den Einsatz der Nachfragesteuerung vorgenommen und Vorgaben für die Produktgestaltung gemacht.

Reliable, efficient and cost-effective energy supply is crucial for economic and social development. Mining and industrial sectors consumed close to 37% of the total energy produced in the world during 2013. The South African power network is strained by the rapid expansion of mining, industrial and public sectors. Generation, transmission and distribution of electrical energy are in progress, but supply will not meet demand in the near future. The South African electricity supplier needs capital for expansion. Electricity price increases have been significantly higher than increases in the gold price over the last few years. Mining companies are under pressure from government to improve their labour relations. They are obligated to spend money on local infrastructure development. Therefore, cost efficiency receives higher priority than ever before and requires an implementation strategy. Cooling systems on mines proved to be significant electricity consumers. These systems lack integrated management and efficient and optimised control. Electricity demand can be reduced through implementation of energy saving measures on these cooling systems. Energy saving measures reduce the operational costs of mining to ensure that mines stay globally competitive. The identification of long-term challenges for energy saving measures is crucial. Successful implementation of energy saving measures results in improved utilisation and performance of mine cooling systems. These measures must be maintained to ensure a constant positive impact on reduced electrical energy consumption. The electrical energy savings are dependent on external factors, such as ambient conditions. Improved implementation strategies of energy saving measures will prevent deterioration of utilisation and performance of the mine cooling systems. Monitoring and reporting of key performance indicators are crucial. Lack of integrated maintenance can lead to lost opportunities and the deterioration of equipment and machines. The improved implementation strategies in two separate case studies proved sustainable savings of 1.73 MW and 0.66 MW respectively. The electricity cost savings for Mine A and Mine B are R8.8 million and R2.9 million respectively. These savings have been sustained for periods of seventeen and seven months respectively, indicating the value of the study. / MIng (Mechanical Engineering), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

The national electricity utility in South Africa, Eskom, is currently under pressure to supply the increasing demand for electricity on a national level. To address this problem in the short term, Eskom partially funds load management and energy efficiency projects. In the meantime, Eskom is also increasing their generation capacity through the erection of new power stations. To finance these capital projects, sharp tariff increases, higher than inflation, are levied, resulting in higher operating expenditures for the consumers. These increased tariffs are especially affecting industrial institutions. Large industries are therefore willing participants in the partially Eskom funded electricity savings programme that hold benefits for both parties. One of these large industries is the Mining Sector. This sector is an energy intensive group and consumes up to 15% of Eskom’s total output. The refrigeration and pumping systems used in the sectors are two of the major electricity consumers. As part of Eskom’s Demand Side Management (DSM) initiative, an electrical energy savings project was implemented in the deep mines’ chilled water systems. The cooling system is optimally controlled to ensure less underground water usage. This ensures that less water is pumped out by the dewatering system, reducing electrical energy usage. A variety of components, such as refrigeration and energy recovery depend on chilled water to function properly. Every relevant component was simulated and the verification of results was done through correlations with process data obtained from the mine. The simulation results showed acceptable error margins that would not influence accuracy. Two sites where a water supply optimisations project was implemented were selected as case studies. In both case studies, thermal results of the refrigeration and cooling system showed a reduction in cooling effectiveness. In case study A, the energy recovery components showed negative results. All of the results were converted to electrical energy costs to enable comparison. Constraints were evident during deep mine water supply optimisation. These were determined and the thermal effects were simulated. This study enabled basic quantifications of environmental impact and also determining project cost savings. The studies showed that positive and negative effects can be brought on in the mining systems with the reduction in chilled water use. In some cases the cooling system components showed a decrease in cooling effectiveness, but exhibited electrical energy savings. This impact was during periods where no personnel were underground in the working area. In conclusion the study also showed that cost savings resulting from the reduced chilled water are substantially higher than negative financial losses seen on the other components. / MIng (Electrical and Electronic Engineering), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014