Dynamic Demand Response : A Solution for Improved Energy Efficiency for Industrial Customers

Electric demand-side management (DSM) focuses on changing the electricity consumption patterns of end-use customers through improving energy efficiency and the optimal allocation of power. Demand response (DR) is a DSM solution that targets residential, commercial, and industrial customers, and is developed for demand reduction or demand shifting at a specific time for a specific duration. In the absence of on-site generation or the possibility of demand shifting, the consumption level needs to be lowered to comply with a DR event. Whereas the noncriticality of loads at the residential and commercial levels allows for demand reduction with relative ease, reducing the demand of industrial processes requires a more sophisticated solution. Production constraints, inventory constraints, maintenance schedules, and crew management constraints are some of the many factors that have to be taken into account before one or more processes can be temporarily shut down. Some of these constraints can be viewed along the overall performance of the system, while others need to be analyzed and evaluated in real time. In this article, a system that dynamically ranks loads and workstations of an industrial site as candidates for demand reduction is proposed. A fuzzy/expert-based system combined with an optimization module verifies whether and, if applicable, by how much the plant can participate in a utility-initiated DR event while satisfying its local operational constraints.