Grant: Strategic Projects Supplemental Competition

As more and more renewable energy resources are integrated into electric power systems, additional system resources are required to provide ancillary services to compensate for the fluctuating power generation of these renewable resources. On the other hand, demand side management for consumer loads is sought by electricity users to reduce costs through peak shaving and bid-based demand response or time of use metering. This project will address these needs in an integrated manner through the development of innovative control technologies based on aggregated domestic water heaters (DWH) and smart meters to provide both ancillary services (synchronous reserve and frequency regulation) and demand side management (peak shaving and bid-based demand response). Electric domestic water heaters account for approximately 30% of residential power consumption, and the average daily power demand profile of DWHs follows that of total residential demand. The project team will conduct technical and economic assessments of aggregated load control by using DWHs as a power system resource, based on actual operational data from the City of Saint John; develop control strategies for aggregated loads to provide ancillary services and minimize electricity costs; and verify the developed technologies on a pilot platform using a cluster of aggregated DWH loads and smart meters in the City of Saint John. The proposed aggregated load control technologies will improve power system reliability and efficiency, reduce consumer electricity costs, and facilitate integration of additional renewable resources into existing power systems, leading to reduced greenhouse gas emissions in Canada. Through the project, training and the opportunity to interact with industry partners will be provided to two graduate students, two undergraduate students and one post-doctoral fellow. The project has received strong support from New Brunswick System Operator and Saint John Energy in New Brunswick, and Hefei University of Technology in China.