Nonlinear Multi-objective Programming Approach to Differential Electricity Pricing Optimization

• Main Authors: Chiang, Hsin Yu, 姜欣妤
• Other Authors: Wang, Hsiao Fan
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2016
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/42428228720232337297

碩士 === 國立清華大學 === 工業工程與工程管理學系 === 104 === With the rise in electricity demand, energy security and climate change have become imperative problems. To reach the goal of sustainable development, each country has embarked on the development of renewable energy and demand side management. In demand side management, demand response helps an electric utility company to deal with the wide variation of electricity consumption throughout the day. Recently, Time-of-Use is a common and effective demand response program which encourages the modification of consumption ways in both existing traditional grid and developing smart grid. The equalized daily consumption curve can postpone the construction of new generation units, lower generation costs, and increase both reliability and efficiency of the supply system. Based on these ideas, this study aims to help the electric utility company decide Time-of-Use prices. To deal with a Time-of-Use pricing problem from the viewpoint of the electric utility company, this study proposes a differential pricing model in the form of nonlinear multi-objective programming to determine Time-of-Use prices. The estimated hourly consumption, which reacts to Time-of-Use prices, can also be derived from the model. In the model, the objectives are to equalize consumption throughout the day and reduce the environmental impact of daily consumption while considering business development and consumer satisfaction. To describe consumer satisfaction, an integrated consumer satisfaction in response to each electricity price is presented by considering the three types of consumers, namely, aggressive, neutral, and passive consumers. To solve the multi-objective programming model, multi-objective functions are transformed into a single objective function by the weighted sum method. An illustrative case of Time-of-Use pricing in Taiwan is used to verify the proposed model. The results show that the suggested electricity prices can benefit both the electric utility company and consumers. The benefits can be exemplified by the minimal range of the estimated hourly consumption and the minimal estimated daily carbon dioxide emissions. Sensitivity analysis is conducted on the consumer satisfaction level to provide the electric utility company information related to the trade-off between consumer satisfaction and the objectives. The results of this study can assist the electric utility company in formulating a promising decision on setting Time-of-Use prices.