Demonstrations of communication standards for automated demand response and smart grid

We present the technical demonstration of the Japanese automated demand response (ADR) technique based on the OpenADR communication protocol and developed by considering the energy policies of Japan. To apply the OpenADR protocol, which has been developed based on standards followed in the United States, to Japan, various use cases were assumed in the contracts between utilities, aggregators, and customers; inspection of the contents of the contracts were carried out to identify if these use cases are supported. Several demand response automation servers/clients (DRAS), which are reference machines that interoperate with existing DR systems implemented by electric companies and aggregators, have been deployed in the Shinjuku EMS Center as part of a national project in Japan. For developing the Japanese ADR technique, demonstrations that involved various projects of the Center, including DR demonstration projects in four areas and an incentive-type DR demonstration project, were carried out. The results of these projects were used to modify the DR interface specifications to match Japanese standards. Furthermore, drastic load restraints or load restraint finish caused by the DRs of multiple consumers may cause voltage deviation in the distribution system, PV output restraint, and simultaneous disconnection of PV systems, based on the sudden change in load current. Owing to the complex configuration of distribution networks and the considerable load reduction achieved by DR, conventional voltage control techniques are inadequate and advanced control techniques for the smart grid are required. Therefore, we propose novel voltage control techniques that allow coordinated voltage control using devices such as load ratio control transformers (LRTs), step voltage regulators (SVRs) with DR information, and battery energy storage systems (BESS). In the demonstration using an analog simulator, the voltage control sequence at the time of the DR in consideration of the time constant of LRT/SVR, and cooperative voltage control with BESS were investigated for preventing the voltage deviation in distribution networks and minimizing capital spending. The effectiveness of the proposed techniques was validated by inspection and evaluation using distribution network simulators in the facilities.