Reduction in Bill Using Time of Usage Pricing in a Smart Grid

Abstract

In today’s scenario, the Internet has dominated almost all domains. It led to revolutionary advancements in the existing technology by conceptualizing the ordinary power grid into a smart grid. Use of smart meters, sensors and other gadgets in the smart grid has made the existing cyber-physical system more resilient and efficient than the existing one. By the aid of the Internet, the components of the smart grid are connected to the same server. This paper emphasizes the importance of communication between the elements of the grid. A successful communication system allows the transfer of information and energy between the components of the grid. Components like wireless sensor networks (WSN) are useful for such networks. Along with an energy management unit, they can control the load demand of a consumer. The load demand is smartly shifted from peak hours to off-peak hours, following the concept of time of usage (TOU) pricing. Due to this shift in demand, the user has to pay a lesser amount for energy. This paper presents a unique approach based on devices which are easy to access. A case study is presented wherein data is transmitted via communication established between devices. The WSN and EMU smartly adjust the load in off-peak durations. A drop in the bill of the user is seen. This can be further extended for industries and other power system networks.