Design and Cosimulation of Hierarchical Architecture for Demand Response Control and Coordination

Demand response (DR) plays a key role for optimum asset utilization and to avoid or delay the need of new infrastructure investment. However, coordinated execution of multiple DRs is desired to maximize the DR benefits. In this study, we propose a hierarchical DR architecture (HDRA) to control and coordinate the performance of various DR categories such that the operation of every DR category is backed-up by time delayed action of the others. A reliable, cost-effective communication infrastructure based on ZigBee, WiMAX, and fibers is designed to facilitate the HDRA execution. The performance of the proposed HDRA is demonstrated from the power system and communication perspectives in a cosimulation environment applied to a 0.4 kV/400 kVA real distribution network considering electric vehicles as a potential DR resource (DRR). The power simulation is performed employing a real time digital simulator whereas the communication simulation is performed using OMNeT++. The HDRA performance demonstrated the maximum utilization of available DR potential by facilitating simultaneous execution of multiple DRs and enabling participation of single DRR for multiple grid applications.