Bidding problem of Combined Cooling, Heat, and Power systems to take advantage of their inherent flexibility in service restoration programs of distribution networks

Abstract This paper focuses on Combined Cooling, Heating, and Power (CCHP) systems, as the key flexible entities in the distribution networks (DNs) which can present their surplus capacities for dealing with outages through participating in Service Restoration Programs (SRPs). To this end, a three-stage hierarchical market framework is developed to conduct all interactions between CCHPs’ operators and Distribution System Operator (DSO) in normal operating, pre-, and post-outage conditions. The bidding problem of CCHPs for participating in SRPs is investigated in both pre- and post-outage stages. In order to use the full capability of CCHPs, the stored energy in their Energy Storage System (ESS) is incorporated in their bids. An efficient optimization model is proposed to overcome the complexity of the bidding problem related to ESSs’ inter-temporal constraints and to compensate all the imposed costs on CCHPs due to the rescheduling of ESSs. The numerical results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed bidding model in SRPs.