Evaluating the Comprehensive Performance of Demand Response for Commercial Customers by Applying Combination Weighting Techniques and Fuzzy VIKOR Approach

Abstract

In order to guarantee the sustainability of power industries, demand response is widely developed in China with the improvement of power markets. Massive potential flexible resources in the commercial sector are valuable to carry out continuous demand response programs. This paper presented a hybrid framework to evaluate the performance of such programs. Considering that assessment processes involve multiple decisions for massive criteria under fuzzy conditions, we proposed a fuzzy multi-criteria decision making model to evaluate the performance of commercial demand response based on the concepts of a fuzzy Vlsekriterijumska Optimizacijia I Kompromisno Resenje method and a L2-metric distance. The weighting determination process in the model was modified by integrating subjective opinions and objective information according to a fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process and Criteria Importance Through Intercriteria Correlation methods. Then a comprehensive evaluation index system for demand response performance was established by using a fuzzy Delphi method based on experts’ opinions, including the five aspects of economy, society, technology, environment and management. Finally, the practicality of the proposed hybrid framework was verified through an empirical analysis of five such programs in Chinese commercial buildings. Their comprehensive performances were ranked effectively. Sub-criteria affiliated with society and environment should be more attention than the other evaluation criteria based on experts’ judgments and objective information. Moreover, a set of sensitivity analyses were performed to confirm the robustness and effectiveness of the proposed framework and the evaluation results. The study findings can offer references for the improvement of demand response and relevant policy formulation.