Optimal Demand Response Allocation in LV Distribution Networks Using the PSO Algorithm

Peak load shaving is a main objective sought by electricity utilities, for technical and economic reasons. The increasing use of renewable resources and the environmental regulations placed on fossil fuel electricity generation bring new challenges in the operation of highly loaded electricity networks, especially at peak hours. One way of addressing these problems is load reduction using methods such as Demand Response (DR). DR programs are in place worldwide mainly for industrial clients, while approaches for residential consumers are mostly theoretical, with a few pilot projects underway. This paper proposes a Particle Swarm Optimization-based algorithm for Demand Response at MV/LV substation level, where the DR level requested by the utility for a substation is distributed between the customers in the LV network according to preset comfort levels and other optimization criteria - affected number of users, affected comfort levels, network balancing and loss reduction.