Real-time pricing for smart grid with multi-energy microgrids and uncertain loads: a bilevel programming method

Abstract As distributed energy (DE) and storage devices being integrated into microgrids (MGs), demand side management (DSM) is getting more and more complicated. The real-time pricing (RTP) mechanism based on demand response (DR) is an ideal method for DSM, which can achieve supply–demand balance and maximize social welfare in the future. This paper proposes a hierarchical market framework to address RTP between the power supplier and multi-microgrids (MMGs). Firstly, an expectation bilevel model is proposed to adjust the energy scheduling of MMGs, including uncertain loads, multi-energy-supply and storage devices,etc. In the proposed bilevel model, the upper level aims to maximize the profit of the power supplier, while the lower level is formulated to maximize the expectation of total welfares for MMGs. Then, the lower level is transformed into a deterministic optimization problem by mathematical techniques. To solve the model, a hybrid algorithm-called distributed PSO-BBA, is put forward by combining the particle swarm optimization (PSO) and the branch and bound algorithm (BBA). In this algorithm, the PSO and BBA are employed to address the subproblems of upper and lower levels, respectively. Finally, simulations on several situations show that the proposed distributed RTP method is applicable and effective under uncertainties, and can reduce the computational complexity as well. The results show that the hierarchical energy dispatch framework is not only more reasonable but also can increase the profits of power suppliers and the welfare of MGs effectively.