Scenario Analysis of Residential Demand Response at Network Peak Periods

Electricity demand response refers to consumer actions that change the utility load profile in a way that reduces costs or improves grid security. Residential demand response (RDR) can be treated as an energy resource which can be assessed and commercially developed. RDR prospectors require more detailed information about usage patterns and penetration for specific electrical appliances during system peak load. The electric utilities normally measure electricity consumption data aggregated over many households and other users on a feeder and do not have information on household end-use behaviour. This paper describes a bottom-up diversified demand model that can be used to estimate load profile of residential customers in a given region. The model has been calibrated by a stated preference demand response survey and used to estimate the voluntary demand response potential for the residential customers in Christchurch, New Zealand, where winter peak demand is becoming increasingly difficult to meet on a capacity-constrained network.