Multi-Period Observation Clustering for Tariff Definition in a Weekly Basis Remuneration of Demand Response

• Main Authors: Cátia Silva, Pedro Faria, Zita Vale
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2019-04-01
• Series: Energies
• Subjects: clustering; demand response; distributed generation; smart grids
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/12/7/1248

Distributed energy resources can improve the operation of power systems, improving economic and technical efficiency. Aggregation of small size resources, which exist in large number but with low individual capacity, is needed to make these resources’ use more efficient. In the present paper, a methodology for distributed resources management by an aggregator is proposed, which includes the resources scheduling, aggregation and remuneration. The aggregation, made using a k-means algorithm, is applied to different approaches concerning the definition of tariffs for the period of a week. Different consumer types are remunerated according to time-of-use tariffs existing in Portugal. Resources aggregation and remuneration profiles are obtained for over 20.000 consumers and 500 distributed generation units. The main goal of this paper is to understand how the aggregation phase, or the way that is performed, influences the final remuneration of the resources associated with Virtual Power Player (VPP). In order to fulfill the proposed objective, the authors carried out studies for different time frames (week days, week-end, whole week) and also analyzed the effect of the formation of the remuneration tariff by considering a mix of fixed and indexed tariff. The optimum number of clusters is calculated in order to determine the best number of DR programs to be implemented by the VPP.