Electric Vehicle Participation in Transactive Power Systems Using Real-Time Retail Prices

Abstract

Smart grids can help Plug-in Electric Vehicles (PEV) manage their load in a grid-friendly way. In this paper, we consider the case of PEVs participating in a retail double auction electricity regulation market, as in the so-called "transactive control" paradigm. Price-responsive charging of PEVs is modeled in conjunction with real-time retail price signals from the utility. PEVs can defer charging or even discharge when the retail prices are high. Buy and sell reservation prices are based on expectations of future prices and opportunity costs of sold energy, respectively. Feeder capacity constraints also affect the retail price and are allowed to rise to the point at which supply equals demand. For the most advanced charging strategies, as the price rises, demand from PEVs drops, and if the constraint causes further price increases, the PEVs can begin to supply energy. The results show that when rooftop solar energy is available transactive bid-response vehicle charging strategies significantly enhance short-term electricity demand elasticity and can reduce consumer energy costs by more than 75% in comparison to the unresponsive charge case.