Incentive Design of Conservation Voltage Reduction Planning for Industrial Loads in Ontario

Abstract

In this thesis, a novel framework for planning and investment studies pertaining to the implementation of system-wide conservation voltage reduction (CVR) is presented. In the CVR paradigm, optimal voltage profiles at the load buses are determined so as to yield load reductions and hence energy conservation. The system modifications required for CVR is known to be capital intensive; therefore, the proposed model determines the system savings and the appropriate price incentives to offer industries such that a minimum acceptable rate-of-return (MARR) is accrued. In this model, the industrial facilities are represented by a combination of constant impedance, constant current, and constant power loads.

A detailed case study for Ontario, Canada, is carried out considering that industrial loads are investing in CVR implementation to reduce their energy costs. The optimal incentives that need be offered by the system planner, over a long-term horizon and across various zones of Ontario, are determined using the presented mathematical model. Furthermore, a comprehensive risk analysis, comprising sensitivity studies and Monte Carlo simulations, is carried out considering the variations in the most uncertain model parameters.

In this work, it is shown that savings from CVR are enough so that incentives are not required in Ontario. Sensitivity analysis shows that electricity price and project cost have the highest impact on the incentives, and that electricity price and industrial demand have the most effect on system savings. Monte Carlo simulations show that the expected energy cost savings result in expected incentive rates to be relatively low compared to the average electricity price in Ontario. CVR is shown in this thesis to be a low cost Demand Side Management program to implement from the perspective of the power system planner, and a worthwhile investment for the industrial load.