Demand Response Program Implementation Methodology: A Colombian Study Case

Abstract

The industrialization and urbanization are responsible for Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions and could generate energy shortage problems. The application of Demand Response (DR) programs enables the user to be empowered towards a conscious consumption of energy, allowing the reduction or displacement of the demand for electrical energy, contributing to the sustainable development of the sector and the operational efficiency of the electrical system, among others. A reference framework for this type of program is detailed along with a literature survey applied to the Colombian case. The considerations on the design of a methodology to the implementation of the DR pilot, considering if the pilot is in an interconnected system zone or non-interconnected system zone and the application of the design methodology in the modeling of three DR pilots in Colombia is presented. For the modeling of the pilots, the characteristics of the area and the base consumption of the users are considered, and the characteristics and assumptions of the pilot are also defined. Furthermore, the DR pilot in each zone considering four types of users is detailed. The results show the potential for energy reduction and displacement in different time bands for each zone, which allows determining the assessment of the benefits from a technical, financial, and environmental point of view, and the costs of each pilot in monetary terms, it not to compare the pilots with each other, but to illustrate the values that must be taken into account in those analyses. The sensitivity analysis of each pilot was also carried out, considering the variation of the benefit/cost relationship with the energy rate in peak hours vs. off-peak hours and the base energy rate in the area. The sensitivity analysis shows that, when varying the level of energy demand response and the number of pilot participants, the values are presented when the benefit/cost ratio is greater than 1. In addition, the paper provides specific recommendations related to the design of a methodology and the implementation in a pilot DR using simulation.