Self-Scheduling Virtual Power Plant for Peak Management

An efficient and reliable management system for a cluster of distributed energy resources (DERs) is essential for the sustainable and cost-effective peak management (PM) operation of the power grid. The virtual power plant (VPP) provides an efficient way to manage a variety of DERs for the PM process. This paper proposes a VPP framework for PM of local distribution companies by optimizing the self-scheduling of available resources, considering uncertainties and constraints. The study examines two separate scenarios and introduces novel algorithms for determining threshold values in each scenario. An approach is suggested for the transaction between VPP and the aggregator models. The proposed technique intends to determine the optimal amount of capacity that aggregators can allocate for the day-ahead PM procedure while accounting for both thermostatically controlled and non-thermostatically controlled loads. The proposed VPP framework shows promising results for reducing demand charges and optimizing energy resources for PM.