The integrated electricity and heating system (IEHS) can satisfy the diversified energy demand and improve energy efficiency through electro-thermal synergy and complementarity, which is beneficial for energy transformation and global climate governance. To reduce the operation cost, renewable energy source (RES) abandonment, and purchased electricity of IEHS, an optimal dispatching method of IEHS with multiple functional areas considering the flow regulation of the heat network is proposed. Firstly, the functional area of IEHS is classified and the functional area’s load characteristics are analyzed. Secondly, a heat network model considering refined resistance and dynamic characteristics is constructed and the operation regulation modes of the heat network are analyzed. Thirdly, an optimal dispatching model of IEHS with multiple functional areas considering heat network flow regulation is established to minimize the operation cost of IEHS with multiple functional areas while considering the penalty cost of RES abandonment and time-of-use electricity price. Finally, a certain region in China is taken as a case study to verify the effectiveness of the proposed optimal dispatching model. The case study shows that the quality regulation mode of the heat network considering flow change in multiple stages can effectively reduce RES abandonment by 2.4%, purchased electricity by 5.4%, and the system operation cost by 1.7%. In addition, compared with the independent dispatching of each functional area, the joint dispatching of IEHS with multiple functional areas can reduce the amount of RES abandonment by 95.2% and purchased electricity by 66.5%, and lower the operation cost of IEHS by 23.6%.

The optimal dispatching of integrated electricity and heating system (IEHS) can satisfy the diversified energy demand and improve the renewable energy consumption level through electro-thermal synergy and complementarity. However, the failure to fully exploit the consumption potential of renewable energy sources can be caused by insufficient consideration of multiple functional areas, and the economy and robustness of optimal dispatching will be affected by the uncertainty of IEHS. Therefore, a distributionally robust optimal dispatching model of IEHS with multiple functional areas considering the uncertainties of sources and loads is proposed in this paper, aiming to minimize the operation cost and renewable energy curtailment of IEHS and achieve the balance between robustness and economy of optimal dispatching. Firstly, the uncertainties model of sources and loads based on Wasserstein distance is established. Then, a distributionally robust optimal dispatching model of IEHS with multiple functional areas considering the uncertainties of sources and loads is established to minimize the operation cost of IEHS while considering the uncertainty costs. Finally, a certain IEHS with multiple functional areas is taken as a case study to verify the effectiveness of the proposed optimal dispatching model.