Demand Side Management Based Optimal Scheduling Portfolio of a Microgrid in Linear Programming Platform

Microgrid facilitates penetration of renewable energy sources into the existing distribution systems to reduce the overall carbon footprint of the globe by reducing the dependency on the main grid. To justify the large deployment of the microgrid concept, economic operation should be guaranteed. But non-linearities present in the nature of microgrid components and network make the scheduling process complex. Again, non-linear solution strategies do not guarantee global convergence. Therefore, efficient but linear model for microgrid resource scheduling algorithms are gaining interest in present time due to its simplicity and fast computation. On the contrary, for peak demand management, flexible load scheduling is a viable and easiest option to the microgrid operators to minimize the customers' dissatisfaction. This article serves the aforementioned purposes by designing a linear model for microgrid scheduling by implementing demand side management strategies to manage flexible appliances aiming for peak demand reduction. The strategy is implemented on a practical Indian distribution system consisting of commercial and residential loads to prove its efficacy.