Co-simulation based platform for thermostatically controlled loads as a frequency reserve

The rise in the intermittent power generation from renewables shall increase the secondary frequency reserve requirements in the future power system. Complimenting the support from the generators in providing frequency reserve, the active demand response can result in a cost effective contribution to this resource. Among demand response resources, the thermostatically controlled loads (TCLs) connected to the medium voltage networks poses an interesting potential. This work develops a co-simulation environment for the TCLs based demand side management scheme that can be used to assess the network impacts of using this service. An equivalent battery model with dynamic charging rate limits models the TCL aggregation and tracks a realistic frequency regulation signal. The co-simulation platform is tested for the IEEE 119 node distribution test feeder.