A demand-response framework in balance groups through direct battery-storage control

• Georgios Chasparis
• Mario Pichler
• Thomas Natschläger

We consider the Austrian model for the liberized elecricity market which is based on the Balance-Group (BG) model. According to this, consumers/producers are organized into (virtual) balance groups, within which injection and withdrawl of power are balanced. The Balancing Representative Party (BRP) is responsible for maintaining the required energy balance within the group and assume any financial risk for possible imbalances.

The BRP may utilize any additional energy potential of the group and participate in the dayahead or intra-day market. In this analysis, the available energy potential within a group corresponds to the energy balance that can additionally be exchanged (generated/consumed) through directly controlling the operation of the consumers’ batteries. Under such scheme, a consumer may provide the BRP the rights for directly controlling its battery in exchange to some compensation.

We present an optimization framework that allows the BRP to optimally utilize the available battery-storage either for exchanging the available potential in a market (day-ahead or intra-day) or for reacting to predicted energy imbalances. Contrary to prior work in demand response, demand flexibility is not vaguely defined as the flexibility of load-adjustment, rather it is directly controlled through the operation of the battery-storage network.