Indirect control for demand side management - A conceptual introduction

The concept of “indirect control” has become an relevant discussion term in relation to activation distributed and small-scale demand and generation units to provide resources for power system balancing. The term and its association with price signals has, however caused some confusion as to its correct definition, either as a control or a market concept. This paper aims to provide a conceptual introduction to “indirect control” for management of small and distributed demand side resources. A review of control concepts and an analysis of “indirectness” features are provided to create a framework for systematic classification of indirect control strategies. The concepts developed then enable a discussion of control performance and valuation of direct- and indirect control strategies.