Stackelberg game-based optimal scheduling of integrated energy systems considering differences in heat demand across multi-functional areas

Demand-side management is very critical in China's energy systems because of its high fossil energy consumption and low system energy efficiency. A building shape factor is introduced in describing the architectural characteristics of different functional areas, which are combined with the characteristics of the energy consumed by users to investigate the features of heating load in different functional areas. A Stackelberg game-based optimal scheduling model is proposed for electro-thermal integrated energy systems, which seeks to maximize the revenue of integrated energy operator (IEO) and minimize the cost of users. Here, IEO and users are the Stackelberg game leader and followers, respectively. The leader uses real-time energy prices to guide loads to participate in demand response, while the followers make energy plans based on price feedback. Using the Karush-Kuhn-Tucker (KKT) condition and the big-M method, the model is transformed into a mixed-integer quadratic programming (MIQP) problem, which is solved by using MATLAB and CPLEX software. The results demonstrate that the proposal manages to balance the interests of IEO and users. Furthermore, the heating loads of public and residential areas can be managed separately based on the differences in energy consumption and building shape characteristics, thereby improving the system operational flexibility and promoting renewable energy consumption.