Active Network Management (ANM) enables a microgrid to optimally dispatch the active/reactive power of its Renewable Distributed Generation (RDG) and Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) units in real time. Thus, a microgrid with high penetration of RDGs can handle their uncertainties and variabilities to achieve the stable operation using ANM. However, the actual power flow in the line connecting the main grid and microgrid may deviate significantly from the day-ahead bids if the bids are determined without consideration of the real-time adjustment through ANM, which will lead to a substantial imbalance cost. Therefore, this study proposes a formulation for obtaining an optimal bidding which reflects the change of power flow in the connecting line by real-time adjustment using ANM. The proposed formulation maximizes the expected profit of the microgrid considering various network and physical constraints. The effectiveness of the proposed bidding strategy is verified through the simulations with a 33-bus test microgrid. The simulation results show that the proposed bidding strategy improves the expected operating profit by reducing the imbalance cost to a greater degree compared to the basic bidding strategy without consideration of ANM.

Critical peak pricing (CPP) is a demand response program that can be used to maximize profits for a load serving entity in a deregulated market environment. Like other such programs, however, CPP is not free from the payback phenomenon: a rise in consumption after a critical event. This payback has a negative effect on profits and thus must be appropriately considered when designing a CPP scheme. However, few studies have examined CPP scheme design considering payback. This study thus characterizes payback using three parameters (duration, amount, and pattern) and examines payback effects on the optimal schedule of critical events and on the optimal peak rate for two specific payback patterns. This analysis is verified through numerical simulations. The results demonstrate the need to properly consider payback parameters when designing a profit-maximizing CPP scheme.

A Priority Index Method for Efficient Charging of PEVs in a Charging Station with Constrained Power Consumption Plug-in electric vehicle;Charging station;Power distribution algorithm;Heuristic algorithm; The sizable electrical load of plug-in electric vehicles may cause a severe low-voltage problem in a distribution network. The voltage drop in a distribution network can be mitigated by limiting the power consumption of a charging station. Then, the charging station operator needs a method for appropriately distributing the restricted power to all plug-in electric vehicles. The existing approaches have practical limitation in terms of the availability of future information and the execution time. Therefore, this study suggests a heuristic method based on priority indexes for fairly distributing the constrained power to all plug-in electric vehicles. In the proposed method, PEVs are ranked using the priority index, which is determined in real time, such that a near-optimal solution can be obtained within a short computation time. Simulations demonstrate that the proposed method is effective in implementation, although its performance is slightly worse than that of the optimal case.