Demand Response Control in Low Voltage Grids for Technical and Commercial Aggregation Services

The electrification of sectors such as heating and transportation represents a challenge as well as an opportunity for distribution system operators. On the one hand, they are committed to accommodate large numbers of highly rated loads in networks for which it was not designed. On the other hand, some of those represent a source of flexibility that can be used to satisfy different technical and commercial purposes. This paper introduces an upgraded hierarchical structure that aims to serve as a platform for activating and controlling the demand response in low voltage (LV) networks. In this way, a system operator playing a role of an aggregator not only could trade flexible demand in the power markets, but also materialize its energy agreements while ensuring the local network security and reliability. To verify the effectiveness of this extended method, a Danish LV network is considered. The results show that it is possible to fulfill energy commitments in energy markets such as the regulation power market while respecting the proper network operation. However, the activation of the flexibility offered might be limited depending on the network characteristics and the season of the year.