A two-stage stochastic bilevel programming approach for offering strategy of DER aggregators in local and wholesale electricity markets

A two-stage stochastic programming scheme is proposed in order to evaluate the offering strategy of a distributed energy resource aggregator in both wholesale and local electricity markets and appropriately cope with uncertainties associated with its decision-making problem. In this regard, the aggregator combines a broad range of virtual and real distributed energy resources to simultaneously participate in the local electricity market as a price-maker or strategic player and the wholesale electricity market as a price-taker or non-strategic player. To model the studied aggregator as a strategic entity in the local market, a bilevel programming approach is exploited in this work. Accordingly, at the upper level of the raised problem, the aggregator tends to promote its expected profit through taking part in the wholesale and local electricity markets, while at the lower level, the considered local market is cleared in a way to maximise the social welfare. In the end, the effectiveness of the proposed framework for the simultaneous participation of the distributed energy resource aggregator in these two markets has been explored utilising a case study.