An Overview of Different Types of Load Forecasting Methods and the Factors Affecting the Load Forecasting

Abstract

load forecasting is vitally important for the electric industry in the deregulated economy. Load forecasting is about estimating future consumptions based on various data and information available and as per consumer behavior. Load forecasting mean forecasting average load in kw or total load in kwh for blocks of hourly, daily, weekly, monthly or yearly. There are different tools and techniques for load forecasting. One of the primary tasks of an electric utility is to accurately predict load demand requirements at all times, especially for short term. It has many applications including energy purchasing and generation, load switching, contract evaluation, and infrastructure development. Hence knowing the load behavior in advance is very important in planning, analysis and operation of power systems to maintain an uninterrupted, reliable, secure and economic energy providing.