An application of energy efficiency programs to multi-stage transmission network expansion and reactive power planning

Energy efficiency programs as an energy source with multiple advantages (low cost, more reliability, and highly clean) are considered as one of the most effective solutions to meet future energy needs. In this paper, Energy Efficiency Programs (EEPs) are modeled as virtual sources of power generation to investigate their impacts on expanding transmission network and Reactive Power Planning (RPP). A multi-stage model based on AC power flow is used to indicate the possibility of postponing the investment actions as the investment deferral in Transmission Expansion Planning (TEP). Two groups of regulatory support schemes are considered as investor income to promote participation in EEPs, namely purchasing Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) and shared saving model. In addition, two standard case studies (Garver and 46-bus Brazilian) are evaluated to demonstrate the promising potential of the proposed model in handling the planning problems of practical power systems. The simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed model to solve such planning problems in the presence of EEPs. (C) 2022 Sharif University of Technology. All rights reserved.