Enhancing Distribution Network Flexibility Through Residential Flexibility Provision

A model for incorporating flexibility provision in distribution networks is proposed to overcome challenges such as balancing and congestion, ultimately enhancing the network's flexibility. This model involves using residential flexibility from home appliances as part of a demand response program that modifies their consumption profiles. The model utilizes various flexible load resources, enabling the rescheduling of shifting/real-time home appliances to accommodate the peak demand of the distribution system operator (DSO). We model this problem as mixed-integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) and propose the use of a cooperative coevolution strategy with time-related grouping (CC-TRG) to effectively solve the complex problem. Our experimental results show that aggregators can fulfill the DSO's flexibility requirements by rescheduling home appliance loads over a 24-hour range and minimizing the remuneration costs for end-users, ultimately leading to a more sustainable distribution network with enhanced flexibility.