Optimal scheduling and self-generation for load management in the Mexican power sector

Load management and cogeneration models for big industrial electrical users in time of use tariffs have been proposed in several countries as a tool to reduce the electrical billing cost under their local structures. Some strategies drawn from these local solutions do not directly apply elsewhere. In this paper, a numerical procedure to optimize load and self-generation scheduling is applied for industrial electricity users under the billing structure of the Mexican supply company. This procedure implies the solution of a mixed integer linear programming problem. The optimal solution of this problem renders the appropriate scheduling of loads, considering self-generated and imported energy from the supply company to minimize the electrical billing costs. The results show that load management alone to place loads in off-peak periods is a good strategy to minimize costs. The model also showed that self-generation further increases the savings by appropriately molding the "billing demand". (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.