Demand Side Management in Small Power Systems – The Estonian Case Study

The increasing amount of stochastic power generation connected to power system increases the need for additional ancillary reserves. Most of today’s electricity consumers are relatively flexible and easily controllable, providing an already existing supplement for traditional power system ancillary services. The flexibility of loads depends on the number, type and size of consumers. In small power systems utilizing loads for power system services pose different challenges for the system operator than in larger systems. The main challenge lies in developing a business case and incentives for the customers to participate in such services. This paper discusses and analyses the Estonian three most energy intensive economic sectors potential for demand side response from a small power system point of view. Generally it is determined that demand side flexibility provides incentives not only for the power system operator but also for the customer who is able optimize its processes to gain higher economic and energy efficiency and at the same time provide flexibility for the system operator. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.eie.22.3.15308