Supplementing spinning reserves with demand response under wind generation uncertainty

Grid operators are required to keep a certain level of spinning reserves to ensure system reliability. To keep the same level of reliability in systems with increased penetration of intermittent generation resources, such as wind and solar, these spinning reserves should be increased, leading to increased operations costs. This paper investigates the capability of demand response in eliminating the need for additional spinning reserves in systems with high levels of uncertainty due to wind resources. Demand response is modeled as a responsive load in which customers change their energy consumption with respect to change in the price of electricity. The cost of spinning reserves is computed using a day-ahead unit commitment and economic dispatch, while capturing load and generation uncertainties. Numerical simulations on a testbed power system indicate that an effective demand response program can offset the cost of operations by reducing the need for additional spinning reserves.