Diverse demand side portfolio: Another step towards smart grids

The deployment of diverse demand side portfolio in smart distribution systems has given rise to more flexible distribution companies (Discos). Distributed generator (DG) and interruptible load (IL) are seen as an additional instrument to Discos to achieve targets for promoting competition, increasing the reliability of smart distribution systems and alleviating the market power of generation companies (Gencos). This paper deals with day-ahead electricity market auction concept which Discos operating in a smart distribution system need perception to tackle. We provide complementary economic and technical insights by developing an agent-based simulation. This is a detailed double sided model with an active specification of the Gencos and Discos equipped with DG and IL. Gencos and Discos are modeled as adaptive agents capable of reinforcement learning through the interaction with their environment. A case study with three scenarios is presented considering seven competitive Discos and Gencos. Scenarios are constructed to analyze the Discos´ strategies with respect to their diverse portfolio options.