Demand Side Management (DSM)

This article will discuss Demand Side Management, its categories and constraints in smart grid technologies. Let us start with the basic definition of Demand Side Management (DSM).

What is Demand Side Management?

In smart grid technology, the modification of consumer demand for energy through different methods such as behavioral change and financial incentives by means of education is referred to as demand side management (DSM). Demand Side Management (DSM) is also known as Energy Demand Management (EDM).

In other words, Demand Side Management (DSM) is an important aspect of smart grid technology which is used to provide consumers with the opportunity to optimize the pattern of their load usage, so that the gap between the energy supply and energy demand can be reduced or filled. The ultimate objective of demand-side management is to increase energy and economic efficiency.

The primary objective of demand-side management is to motivate the end consumers to use lesser electrical energy during peak hours or to move the time of electricity use to off-peak times like night-time and weekends. Although energy demand management does not reduce the total energy consumption, it decreases the need for investments in power plants and/or power networks to meet the peak energy demands.

The use of energy storage units is the best example of demand-side management. In this case, energy storage units are used to store electrical energy during off-peak hours, and they are discharged during peak hours.

The use of demand-side management also helps the grid operators for balancing the intermittent power generation from solar and wind units, especially when the timing and magnitude of energy demand do not coincide with the renewable power generation.

In India, the electricity industry depends upon foreign energy imports, whether in the form of electricity or fossil fuels that can be used to produce electricity. These days, demand-side management (DSM) technologies are feasible because of the integration of IT and communication technologies with power systems.

Categories of Demand Side Management

The demand side management (DSM) is classified into the following three categories:

• Direct Control of Load
• Distribution Load Control
• Local Load Control Option

Let us discuss each of these categories of DSM in detail.

(1). Direct Control of Load:

The primary goal of this category of DSM is to have direct control of load, generator and energy storage. The direct control of load DSM makes the use of communication systems such as a power line carrier to transmit control signals from the supply (utility) side to the customer.

(2). Distribution Load Control:

In distribution load control, the utility company controls the consumer’s loads by sending real-time prices.

(3). Local Load Control Option:

This category of DSM technology authorizes consumers to self-adjust their loads to limit the peak demand. For this, they use demand-activated breakers, timers, load interlocks, cogeneration heating, cooling storage, occupancy sensors, etc.

Constraints of Demand Side Management

The following are the important constraints of demand side management:

• Technological Constraints
• Social Constraints
• Economical Constraints
• Institutional and Political Constraints

Let us discuss each of these constraints of DSM briefly.

(1). Technological Constraints:

The technological constraints of DSM are those that depend upon the use of modern communication for remote metering, billing, local controls and management of power, etc.

(2). Social Constraints:

The social constraints of DSM are those that deal with environmental goals. These constraints provide excellent energy-efficient operation. The social constraints of DSM are controlled by the utility’s energy cost cutting.

(3). Economical Constraints:

The economical constraints of DSM involve financial benefits, investment commitments in power network expansion, etc. These constraints provide an incentive for utility companies so that business operations can be diversified.

(4). Institutional and Political Constraints:

The institutional and political constraints of DSM depend upon the government, institutional, and equipment manufacturing companies.

Benefits of Demand Side Management

The following are the important advantages of demand-side management in smart grids:

• Benefits to consumers – Demand-side management reduces energy bills, improves services, and also provides several non-energy business benefits, etc.
• Benefits to society – Demand-side management reduces foreign energy costs, reduces pollution, reduces business costs, increases the utilization of indigenous energy resources, etc.
• Benefits to utility – Demand side management reduces the cost of services such as maintenance cost and equipment replacement costs, reduces the need for generation and transmission capacity, improves the operating efficiency, etc.

Hence, this is all about demand-side management (DSM) in smart grid technology. In the above sections of this article, we discussed the objective of demand side management, categories of demand side management, constraints of demand side management, and benefits of demand side management. From the above discussion, we can conclude that demand-side management increases energy and economy efficiency by providing consumers with the opportunity to optimize their load usage patterns. It helps in reducing energy and servicing costs.