Multi-Energy Demand-Side Management for Flexibility Service in Distribution Networks

The high penetration of renewable energy has significantly increased the demand for flexibility services, particularly in distribution networks. At the same time, the electrification of the heating sector introduces interactions and interdependencies between energy vectors, presenting a promising yet unexplored source of flexibility. This paper proposes a multi-energy demand-side management (DSM) framework for flexibility service provision in distribution networks. The proposed framework includes multi-energy assets and demands, such as pumped thermal energy storage (PTES) and combined heat and power (CHP) systems. Among diverse energy storage technologies, PTES emerges as a cost-effective and grid-scale solution with environmentally friendly operation and extended lifetime. The proposed model is formulated as a mixed-integer linear optimization problem to schedule resources, optimizing utilization payment and energy costs while ensuring compliance with the flexibility service requirements. The performance of the proposed optimization framework is verified through numerical studies on a modified benchmark network, demonstrating the successful operation of flexibility services and the potential of PTES to enhance network flexibility.