Dynamic pricing optimization for commercial subcontracting power suppliers engaging demand response considering building virtual energy storage

Abstract

Commercial buildings have abundant flexible energy resources for demand response (DR). The electricity price for tenants in the commercial building is generally issued by a subcontracting power supplier (SPS), and the tenants cannot directly interact with the energy retailer. Therefore, the incentive for tenants to participate in DR is insufficient, and their potential is not fully explored. To address these issues, this paper proposes a dynamic pricing method based on the Stackelberg game, helping tenants actively participate in DR. Then, with the optimized energy consumption of the tenants, a virtual energy storage model of the commercial building is constructed by aggregating the adjustable capabilities of flexible energy resources such as air-conditioning (AC) and electric vehicles (EVs) in the public area. Finally, simulation tests are conducted based on a real commercial building to demonstrate the effectiveness of the game-theoretic pricing approach and validate the role of virtual energy storage of the building in DR.