Portfolio design of a demand response aggregator with satisficing consumers

This paper studies the impact of consumer behavior on the portfolio design of a demand response (DR) aggregator. Consumer behavior is modeled using elements of satisficing theory. We develop an optimization model to decide the optimal portfolio of DR contracts for an aggregator participating in the electricity market. In our model, the aggregator must pay a premium to enable the participation of consumers who have a certain aspiration threshold, below which they will not participate. Thus, the proposed model determines the premiums to be offered to consumers in order to obtain a DR portfolio that maximizes the aggregator's operating surplus while satisfying the aspirations of participating consumers. Several simulations are performed to obtain insights on the value of the DR resource, and the importance of parameters used to model the consumer behavior.