Demand-Side Management for the Smart Grid

TLDR

Efficient Demand Response or Demand‑Side Management is a key aspiration in the Energy Sector, and Smart Grids offer many opportunities for semi‑automated DSM with proper coordination mechanisms. The study simulates DSM in Smart Grids to outline potential benefits and key ICT requirements. The authors evaluate DSM using de‑synchronization mechanisms in a simulation framework. Preliminary results show a simple centralized reactive pricing scheme is feasible with acceptable communication overhead, though it requires high computational resources.

Abstract

Efficient Demand Response or Demand-Side Management (DSM) has long been one of the key aspirations of the Energy Sector. In Smart Grids, there could be many opportunities for semi-automated DSM, assuming proper coordination (i.e. de-synchronization) mechanisms are in place. In this paper, we present the results of a simulation study that was carried out to outline the potential benefits and sketch the key ICT requirements for DSM in Smart Grids. Our preliminary findings indicate that a simple, centralized reactive pricing scheme could be implemented with an acceptable communication overhead, but also suggest high computational needs.