Control of Electricity Loads in Future Electric Energy Systems

Abstract

Abstract Traditionally, electricity power production has been adjusted to balance the time‐varying electricity load. However, a transition to a system based on an increasing, fluctuating, and nondispatchable renewable power implies that the control of electricity loads becomes crucial. This article describes methods for control of electricity loads in future energy systems and methods for handling stochasticity of, for example, wind and solar power production. Hierarchies of aggregators and predictive controllers, for electricity loads in flexible demand‐side response, are implemented to achieve a balance with the nondispatchable energy production. Two distinct approaches are described: direct control of the load consumption of individual DERs and indirect control by broadcasting an electricity price. The advantages and challenges of these two approaches are discussed, and examples of the suggested techniques are provided.