Citizens collaboration to minimize power costs in smart grids: A game theoretic approach

Generating the power necessary to run our future cities is one of the major concerns for scientists and policy makers alike. The increasing global energy demands with simultaneously decreasing fossil energy sources will drastically affect future energy prices. Strategies are already being implemented to develop solutions for the generation and efficient usage of energy at different levels. Involving citizens in the efficient planning and usage of power is a key. In this paper, we propose a game theory based power sharing mechanism between end-users in smart grids. We consider that citizens can produce some amount of electric power obtained from on-site renewable sources rather than just purchasing their whole demands from the grid. Simulation results show that consumers can achieve considerable cost savings if they adopt the proposed scheme. It is also noticed that the more the consumers cooperate, the higher the percentage of cost savings is.