An innovative RTP-based residential power scheduling scheme for smart grids

This paper proposes a Real-Time Pricing (RTP)-based power scheduling scheme as demand response for residential power usage. In this scheme, the Energy Management Controller (EMC) in each home and the service provider form a Stackelberg game, in which the EMC who schedules appliances' operation plays the follower level game, and the provider who sets the real-time prices according to current power usage profile plays the leader level game. The sequential equilibrium is obtained through the information exchange between them. Simulation results indicate that our scheme can not only save money for consumers, but also reduce peak load and the variance between demand and supply, while avoiding the “rebound” peak problem.