Modeling demand response and TOU rates

Hello. I am trying to model a BTM solar paired with storage system in a scenario in which the system is both subject to TOU rates and a utility demand response requirement. Is it possible to model that?

Thanks!

Hello,

SAM can model an electricity rate structure that includes both energy charges and demand charges, and both may involve time-of-use (TOU) and/or tiered rates.

For a behind-the-meter (BTM) project, grid usage depends on the electric load, solar production, and battery dispatch. You can adjust those to meet demand response requirements.

Best regards,
Paul. 

Hi Paul,

Thanks for the response. I have set up the appropriate TOU rate structure. Under the "retail rate dispatch" setting of battery dispatch, the battery will be operated to max customer savings according to the TOU rates.

However, I am interested in a situation in which the customer is subject to BOTH time of use rates and a utility demand response controlled battery dispatch program consisting of a specific number of dispatch events per year. Those dispatches will supersede the customer's decision making. Is there a way to specify both TOU arbitrage and specific control events?

Thanks

Hi,

One way you could do that would require running two simulations: One to generate a battery dispatch power array based on "retail rate dispatch", and a second to add the demand response dispatch events.

Here's how that would work:

1. Run a simulation with the retail rate dispatch option.
2. On the Data Tables tab, click Clear all to clear the table and then check the box for "Electricity battery power target for automated dispatch (kW)". You can also display "Electricity to/from battery AC (kW)" and "Electricity to/from battery DC (kW)" to verify that the battery power target is the same as the battery DC power.
3. Click Save as CSV to export the data to a CSV text file.
4. Use a spreadsheet program or text editor to open the file you created in Step 3 and delete data beyond Year 1. (For hourly data, you can search Column 1 for "8760" and delete all the rows after that row.)
5. Edit the data as appropriate to represent the demand response dispatch events. The values are in DC kW with positive values indicating battery discharge and negative values indicating battery charge.
6. Select and copy the first year worth of data (8760 rows for hourly data, 35,040 rows for 15-minute data, etc.) to your computer's clipboard. Do not include the column heading.
7. On the Battery Dispatch page change the dispatch option to Input battery power targets.
8. Click Edit array and then click Paste.
9. Run a simulation.

I realize this isn't an ideal solution, but I think it will work if you don't have a large number of demand response dispatch events and know when they occur.

If you can tell us more about how the demand response events are triggered, we can consider ways to incorporate that in a new dispatch option.

Best regards,
Paul.