Demand response in Isolated Power Systems

Isolated Power Systems (IPS) are stand-alone MW-scale (or even KW-scale) grids. They generally have higher supply costs and are less stable than GW-scale interconnected grids. Demand response (DR) could give a greater cost benefit per unit of delivered power in IPS applications than in larger grids. However, it is also likely to have higher installation and operation costs per unit of DR capacity. We review the most significant issues for DR in IPS, and illustrate the benefits with a current project to install a fine-grained demand management system on King Island in Australia.