Section: New Results

Smart Fridge / Dumb Grid? Demand Dispatch for the Power Grid of 2020

In our previous research  [31], it was argued that loads can provide most of the ancillary services required today and in the future. Through load-level and grid-level control design, high-quality ancillary service for the grid is obtained without impacting quality of service delivered to the consumer. This approach to grid regulation is called demand dispatch: loads are providing service continuously and automatically, without consumer interference. In [19] work we investigate what intelligence is required at the grid-level. In particular, does the grid-operator require more than one-way communication to the loads? Our main conclusion: risk is not great in lower frequency ranges, e.g., PJM's RegA or BPA's balancing reserves. In particular, ancillary services from refrigerators and pool-pumps can be obtained successfully with only one-way communication. This requires intelligence at the loads, and much less intelligence at the grid level.