An integrated simulation platform for assessing the integration of plug-in electric vehicles in electricity markets

In this paper an innovative, hierarchical, four-level optimization framework is proposed to model the optimal participation of Electric Vehicle Aggregators (EVAs) in day-ahead and real-time energy and regulation markets in conjunction with the optimal real-time charging management of the EV fleet. The scope of the framework is to incorporate in an integrated approach all the conjugated optimization tasks that an EVA should follow for cost-efficient and reliable market participation as well as for successful electric vehicles smart charging in real-time that will satisfy the EV owners. The PJM market design is modeled and a case study with 1000 PHEVs, represented by an EVA, is presented for one operating day. In the base case the EVA participates in the regulation market by following the dynamic regulation control signal. The base case is compared with one where the EVA follows the traditional regulation control signal and one where the EV fleet behaves in real-time differently than initially expected. The presentation of the main functionalities of the framework highlight its ability to model and evaluate the performance of the EV charging process in second-by-second time resolution in a market environment.