Optimization of Provincial Agent-Based Electricity Purchasing Time-of-Use Pricing Considering Multi-Level Market Interactive Influence

Currently, the formulation of provincial time-of-use pricing only considers the cost of electricity purchase and supply-demand conditions within the province, without taking into account the cost changes brought by multi-level market transactions. Therefore, this paper proposes a method for optimizing provincial agent-based electricity purchasing time-of-use pricing, considering the impact of multi-level market interactions. First, the concept of market overlay cost is introduced to quantify the time-varying characteristics of provincial user electricity costs under multi-level market interactions. Then, a two-stage model considering user response is established. The first stage aims to minimize the total electricity purchase cost of the grid company by formulating a multi-level market transaction strategy, forming time-based electricity prices. In the second stage, time periods are divided based on user time-based electricity prices, and the market overlay cost is allocated to users according to the corresponding time periods, forming new peak, flat, and valley electricity prices. Finally, by comparing time-of-use pricing schemes under different scenarios through numerical examples, the proposed model is validated to alleviate provincial supply-demand conflicts, reduce grid electricity purchase costs, and timely release price signals to encourage user response.