Challenges in utilisation of demand side response for operating reserve provision

Utilisation of flexible demand to provide contingency reserves is generally considered beneficial to power systems, and can be a key enabler for ambitious renewable energy penetrations. Detailed techno-economic analysis of reserve provision from flexible demand is considered in this paper. A unit commitment/economic dispatch problem is set up that recognises demand side response (DSR) as a source of primary operating reserve (POR). Dispatch schedules are then verified with frequency stability assessments to quantify any changes in system performance. It has been demonstrated that while generally beneficial, utilization of DSR does not always improve system performance. Factors such as changes in plant dispatch (largest in-feed contingency can be greater) and flexible demand resource variability have been shown to limit the benefits of DSR under certain conditions. Actual activation of DSR for POR is also shown to compromise network integrity in some cases. All results are demonstrated using the Irish power system.