Method of load management for an electric grid flexibility scheme

Abstract

A method of load management for an electric grid flexibility scheme is disclosed. The method comprises determining a level of loading required by the electric grid. The method comprises categorizing each load of a plurality of loads into one of a fast reaction time group and a slow reaction time group according to a reaction time of the respective load to change a charging power in response to a charge operation command. The method comprises issuing a charge operation command to one or more loads in the fast reaction time group and a charge operation command to one or more loads in the slow reaction time group such that the plurality of loads provide the level of loading required by the electric grid.

Description

[0001] METHOD OF LOAD MANAGEMENT FOR AN ELECTRIC GRID FLEXIBILITY

[0002] SCHEME

[0003] FIELD OF INVENTION

[0004] The present disclosure is in the field of methods of load management, and relates in particular to a method of load management for an electric grid flexibility scheme. The disclosure also relates to an energy flexibility management system.

[0005] BACKGROUND TO INVENTION

[0006] Electrical energy distribution systems, which may for example comprise electricity generation, electricity transportation and transformation (and may collectively be referred to herein as the ‘electrical grid’), may need to be adapted to continuously match supply to demand. Energy system flexibility may refer to an ability to adjust supply and / or demand to achieve a necessary balance within such electrical energy distribution systems, and to maintain flows of electrical energy through the grid to within safe limits. A flexible electrical grid is capable of managing volatility in supply and / or demand to achieve a sustainable balance, providing many benefits.

[0007] In a practical situation, instantaneous electricity supply and electricity demand do not exactly match one another, and this may have detrimental effects on the supply of electrical energy.

[0008] For example, when the electrical grid is in a balanced condition, an alternating current frequency of electrical power transferred via the grid may remain at a nominal frequency, e.g. typically 50 Hz or 60 Hz. However, an imbalance between supply and demand may result in a deviation from the nominal system frequency. If demand, e.g. load, exceeds supply then the AC frequency in the grid may drop below the nominal frequency. If supply exceeds demand then the AC frequency in the grid may increase above the nominal frequency.

[0009] Exact balancing of instantaneous supply and demand in an electrical grid may be difficult to achieve in practice, and therefore minor deviations between the nominal frequency and the actual AC frequency of the grid may be tolerable, e.g. between 49.9 Hz and 50.1 Hz.

[0010] To balance the electrical grid, short-term power balancing reserves may be implemented by the Transmission System Operator (TSO) of the electrical grid to increase or decrease a power supply demand from the electrical grid in relation to the AC frequency of the electrical grid.

[0011] One such example of a power balancing reserve is a Frequency Containment Reserve (FCR), which may also be known in the art as a primary reserve. An FCR may be configured to intervene automatically and with low latency to restore a balance between supply and demand and thus maintain the AC frequency of the electrical grid at the nominal frequency.

[0012] Loads participating in a FCR scheme may increase or decrease their demand at short notice, for example in response to requests from the TSO or DSO indicating variations in the AC frequency of the electrical supply. In such schemes, providers of flexibility may be financially rewarded.

[0013] Notably, use of an FCR may require real-time responses from loads, and a low- latency response to a request to adapt a level of demand may be of paramount importance to the successful operation of the FCR. Existing schemes may require substantial amounts of data relating to operation of loads to be provided with low latency to a flexibility management system, such as a system operating an FCR.

[0014] Such FCR schemes (known in the art as FCR regulation) may require a higher frequency of status updates from the enrolled loads than typical ‘Smart Charging’. Furthermore, a status of a load may vary depending upon many factors, such as selected user preferences and / or characteristics of the load and charger itself, and availability and frequency of status updates may vary. It may be necessary for the FCR scheme to be capable of selecting which loads to shed / add / control to achieve a desired outcome of containing a frequency of the electric grid within defined bounds.

[0015] As such, it is therefore desirable to provide a method and system for selecting and / or controlling loading of an electrical energy distribution system, such that a flexibility scheme, e.g. FCR regulation, may be successfully and reliably implemented.

[0016] It is therefore an aim of at least one embodiment of at least one aspect of the present disclosure to obviate or at least mitigate at least one of the above identified shortcomings of the prior art.

[0017] SUMMARY OF INVENTION

[0018] The present disclosure is in the field of methods of load management, and relates in particular to a method of load management for an electric grid flexibility scheme. The disclosure also relates to an energy flexibility management system. According to a first aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a method of load management for an electric grid flexibility scheme.

[0019] The method comprises determining a level of loading required by the electric grid.

[0020] The method comprises categorizing each load of a plurality of loads into one of a fast reaction time group and a slow reaction time group according to a reaction time of the respective load to change a charging power in response to a charge operation command.

[0021] The method comprises issuing a charge operation command to one or more loads in the fast reaction time group and a charge operation command to one or more loads in the slow reaction time group such that the plurality of loads provide the level of loading required by the electric grid.

[0022] Determining a level of loading required by the electric grid may comprise determining a level of loading, e.g., an increase or decrease to a current loading, required to maintain and / or achieve operation of the electric grid within an acceptable tolerance. As a non-limiting example, in the case of a FCR scheme, it may be required to maintain an AC frequency of the electric grid at between 49.9 Hz and 50.1 Hz.

[0023] Each load of the plurality of loads may comprise an electric vehicle and an electric vehicle charger.

[0024] The method may comprise a preceding step of determining that each load of the plurality of loads may be configured to perform the charging operation in response to receiving the charge operation command. The method may comprise checking that each load of the plurality of loads may be enrolled to participate in the electric grid flexibility scheme.

[0025] The charge operation command to one or more loads in the fast reaction time group may comprise a command to switch between a high-power charging mode and a low-power charging mode.

[0026] References herein to a high-power charging mode may, in at least some embodiments, refer to a full-power charging mode.

[0027] The charge operation command to one or more loads in the slow reaction time group may comprise a command to switch between a high-power charging mode and a paused-charging mode in which a charging operation is paused.

[0028] Determining a level of loading required by the electric grid may comprise determining an operating frequency of the electric grid. Determining a level of loading required by the electric grid may comprise determining a charging power demand based on the determined operating frequency using a geographical region-specific calculator.

[0029] The method may comprise determining an ideal power response based on the charging power demand. The ideal power may, in some embodiments, refer to a power response, e.g. change in loading of the electric grid, required to achieve the nominal frequency may be determined. In particular, the ideal power response may refer to a change in loading of the electric grid due to enabling, disabling, configuring or otherwise adapting charging of one or more energy storage devices, such as electric vehicles.

[0030] The method may comprise calculating an expected power response from the loads in each of the fast reaction time group and the slow reaction time group.

[0031] The method may comprise calculating a deviation from the ideal power response for each of the fast reaction time group and the slow reaction time group.

[0032] When the calculated deviation is determined to be positive, loads in the fast reaction time group that are charging in the low-power charging mode may be ordered according to determined priority levels.

[0033] When the calculated deviation is determined to be positive, loads in the slow reaction time group that are not charging and / or are in the paused-charging mode may be ordered according to determined priority levels.

[0034] When the calculated deviation is determined to be positive, charge operation commands may be issued to switch enough of the loads in the fast reaction time group and in the slow reaction time group to high-power charging mode, based on the respective priority levels, to compensate for the deviation.

[0035] When the calculated deviation is determined to be negative, loads in the fast reaction time group that are charging in the high-power charging mode may be ordered according to determined priority levels.

[0036] When the calculated deviation is determined to be negative, loads in the slow reaction time group that are charging in the high-power charging mode may be ordered according to determined priority levels.

[0037] When the calculated deviation is determined to be negative, charge operation commands may be issued to switch enough of the loads in the fast reaction time group to low-power charging mode and in the slow reaction time group to paused-charging mode, based on the respective priority levels, to compensate for the deviation. The priority levels for each load of the plurality of loads may be determined based on a required charging time of the load to reach a predefined charging level. Optionally, the required charging time may be based on a charging profile associated with the respective load.

[0038] Each load of the plurality of loads may be selected for participation in the electric grid flexibility scheme based on a signal indicating that the load is configured to operate in a charging mode at the start of electric grid flexibility scheme regulation period.

[0039] Each load of the plurality of loads may be selected for participation in the electric grid flexibility scheme based on predetermined data indicating that the load is not excluded from the electric grid flexibility scheme.

[0040] Each load of the plurality of loads may be selected for participation in the electric grid flexibility scheme based on the load being configured to provide charging power updates at a frequency required by the electric grid flexibility scheme.

[0041] Each load of the plurality of loads may be selected for participation in the electric grid flexibility scheme based on the load being located in a geographical region in which the electric grid flexibility scheme is required to operate. In a non-limiting example embodiment where the load comprises a vehicle and a charger, a charging location may be determined by either the charger’s location defined by the user during the on-boarding or the vehicle’s geolocation obtained from the OEM’s API, e.g. the charger or vehicle OEM’s API.

[0042] Each load of the plurality of loads may be selected for participation in the electric grid flexibility scheme based on a known power profile for the load.

[0043] Each load of the plurality of loads may be selected for participation in the electric grid flexibility scheme based on a determination that load comprises available electrical power storage capacity.

[0044] The electric grid flexibility scheme may be a Frequency Containment Reserve (FCR) scheme, and the above-described steps of the method may be repeated periodically during a FCR regulation period.

[0045] According to a second aspect of the disclosure, there is provided an energy flexibility management system comprising: an electrical energy distribution system; a plurality of loads configured to receive energy from the electrical energy distribution system; and a processing system in communication with the electrical energy distribution system and the plurality of loads, wherein the processing system is configured to: determine a level of loading required by the electrical energy distribution system; categorize each load of the plurality of loads into one of a fast reaction time group and a slow reaction time group according to a reaction time of the respective load to change a charging power in response to a charge operation command; and issue a charge operation command to one or more loads in the fast reaction time group and in the slow reaction time group such that the plurality of loads provide the level of loading required by the electrical energy distribution system.

[0046] The electrical energy distribution system may be configured to implement a scheme to adapt the provision of electrical power to the one or more loads to contain a supply frequency of the electrical power to within a targeted frequency range.

[0047] The processing system may comprise a user equipment configured to selectively enable participation in the scheme at least one of the plurality of loads. The processing system may be configured to issue charge operation command to the load, e.g. any of: a command to switch between a high-power charging mode and a low- power charging mode; a command to switch between a high-power charging mode and a paused-charging mode in which a charging operation is paused; a command to start, stop and / or pause charging of a load, etc.

[0048] According to a third aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a computer- implemented method of: determining a level of loading required by an electric grid; categorizing each load of a plurality of loads into one of a fast reaction time group and a slow reaction time group according to a reaction time of the respective load to change a charging power in response to a charge operation command; and issuing a charge operation command to one or more loads in the fast reaction time group and a charge operation command to one or more loads in the slow reaction time group such that the plurality of loads provide the level of loading required by the electric grid.

[0049] According to a fourth aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a method of load management for an electric grid flexibility system, the method comprising: determining a level of loading required by the electric grid; categorizing each load of a plurality of loads into one of a fast reaction time group and a slow reaction time group according to a reaction time of the respective load to change a charging power in response to a charge operation command; and issuing a charge operation command to one or more loads in the fast reaction time group and a charge operation command to one or more loads in the slow reaction time group such that the plurality of loads provide the level of loading required by the electric grid. Each load of the plurality of loads may comprise an electric vehicle and an electric vehicle charger.

[0050] The method may comprise a preceding step of determining that each load of the plurality of loads is configured to perform the charging operation in response to receiving the charge operation command.

[0051] The charge operation command to one or more loads in the fast reaction time group may comprise a command to switch between a high-power charging mode and a low-power charging mode; and / or the charge operation command to one or more loads in the slow reaction time group may comprise a command to switch between a high- power charging mode and a paused-charging mode in which a charging operation is paused.

[0052] Determining a level of loading required by the electric grid may comprise determining an operating frequency of the electric grid.

[0053] Determining a level of loading required by the electric grid may comprise determining a charging power demand based on the determined operating frequency using a geographical region-specific calculator.

[0054] The method may comprise: determining an ideal power response based on the charging power demand; calculating an expected power response from the loads in each of the fast reaction time group and the slow reaction time group; and calculating a deviation from the ideal power response for each of the fast reaction time group and the slow reaction time group.

[0055] When the calculated deviation is positive: loads in the fast reaction time group that are charging in the low-power charging mode may be ordered according to determined priority levels; loads in the slow reaction time group that are not charging and / or are in the paused-charging mode may be ordered according to determined priority levels; and charge operation commands may be issued to switch enough of the loads in the fast reaction time group and in the slow reaction time group to high-power charging mode, based on the respective priority levels, to compensate for the deviation.

[0056] When the calculated deviation is negative: loads in the fast reaction time group that are charging in the high-power charging mode may be ordered according to determined priority levels; loads in the slow reaction time group that are charging in the high-power charging mode may be ordered according to determined priority levels; and charge operation commands may be issued to switch enough of the loads in the fast reaction time group to low-power charging mode and in the slow reaction time group to paused-charging mode, based on the respective priority levels, to compensate for the deviation.

[0057] The priority levels for each load of the plurality of loads may be determined based on a required charging time of the load to reach a predefined charging level, and optionally wherein the required charging time is based on a charging profile associated with the respective load.

[0058] The above summary is intended to be merely exemplary and non-limiting. The disclosure includes one or more corresponding aspects, embodiments or features in isolation or in various combinations whether or not specifically stated (including claimed) in that combination or in isolation. It should be understood that features defined above in accordance with any aspect of the present disclosure or below relating to any specific embodiment of the disclosure may be utilized, either alone or in combination with any other defined feature, in any other aspect or embodiment or to form a further aspect or embodiment of the disclosure.

[0059] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0060] These and other aspects of the present disclosure will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0061] Figure 1 depicts an example of an energy flexibility management system, according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

[0062] Figure 2 depicts an example of a flow diagram of a method of load management for an electric grid flexibility scheme, according to an embodiment of the disclosure; and

[0063] Figure s depicts a Simplified Finite State Machine diagram describing transitions around FCR regulation, according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0064] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0065] Figure 1 depicts an example of an energy flexibility management system 100, according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0066] The energy flexibility management system 100 comprises an electrical energy distribution system 105. The electrical energy distribution system 105 may comprise local and regional energy distribution networks, which may be operated and / or managed by a Distribution System Operator (DSO). The electrical energy distribution system 105 may also comprise means for transmission of electricity from generation plants via the electrical grid 130, e.g. as managed by a Transmission System Operator (TSO).

[0067] The example electrical energy distribution system 105 is configured to provide electrical energy to a load, which is an energy storage system 110.

[0068] In the example, only a single energy storage system 110 is depicted for simplicity of illustration, but it will be appreciated that many more than a single energy storage system 110 may be implemented in practice.

[0069] The example energy storage system 110 comprises a charger 115. In the depicted example, the charger 115 is for an electric vehicle 120, which is also depicted.

[0070] The charger 115 is configured to receive electrical energy from the electrical energy distribution system 105. The electric vehicle 120 is configured to receive electrical energy from the charger 115, e.g. to charge an internal battery of the electric vehicle 120.

[0071] In some embodiments, the electric vehicle 120 may additionally be configured to provide electrical energy to the electrical energy distribution system 105, via the charger 115.

[0072] Also depicted is a processing system 125 in communication with the electrical energy distribution system 105 and the energy storage system 110. The processing system 125 may, for example, comprise one or more servers configured to:

[0073] - determine a level of loading required by the electrical energy distribution system;

[0074] - categorize each load of a plurality of loads into one of a fast reaction time group and a slow reaction time group according to a reaction time of the respective load to change a charging power in response to a charge operation command, wherein each load corresponds to an energy storage system 110; and

[0075] - issue a charge operation command to one or more loads in the fast reaction time group and in the slow reaction time group such that the plurality of loads provide the level of loading required by the electrical energy distribution system.

[0076] The processing system 125 may comprise, for example, one or more servers 135. In an example, the one or more servers 135 may comprise an OEM-server associated with a manufacturer, e.g. OEM, of the electric vehicle 120. Such an OEM- server may communicate with the electric vehicle 120 and / or the charger 115. Such communication may be over wired and / or wireless communication.

[0077] In examples, the processing system 125 may comprise, for example, a further- server associated with a tool for management of the energy flexibility management system 105 of the electric vehicle 120. Such a further server may, for example administer participation of the energy storage system 110 in a flexibility scheme, such as by providing the energy storage system 110 as part of a Frequency Containment Reserve (FCR).

[0078] It will be appreciated that such a configuration of the processing system 125 is provided as an example, and in other embodiments such functionality may be implemented on a single device / server and / or may be implemented over two or more such servers which may be remote from one another.

[0079] In examples, the processing system 125 may comprises a user equipment 140. The user equipment 140 may be, for example, a cellular telephone, tablet device or other smart / connected device.

[0080] The user equipment 140 may run a program, e.g. an application or “App” for administering and / or selectively enabling participation in a flexibility scheme by the energy storage system 110. The user equipment 140 may be in communication with the one or more servers 135 and / or the electrical energy distribution system 105 may be and configured to receive the first data, determine the second data and provide the second data to the electrical energy distribution system 105. Although not depicted in Figure 1 , in some embodiments the user equipment 140 may be in communication with the electric vehicle 120 and / or the charger 115.

[0081] In use, the processing system 125 may be configured to transmit power consumption data of the energy storage device 110 to the electrical energy distribution system 105, thereby enabling implementation of a flexibility scheme such as use of an FCR, by the electrical energy distribution system 105, as described in more detail below

[0082] Electric vehicles are, in general terms, an emerging technology. The high electrical power usage associated with charging electric vehicles, together with the relatively high storage capacity of such vehicles, makes them good candidates for participation in electrical grid flexibility programs.

[0083] For example, electric vehicles (and more generally charging systems such as the energy storage system 110 comprising a charger 115 and an electric vehicle 120) are particularly suitable for contributing to a Frequency Containment Reserve. As described above, use of an FCR may require real-time responses from loads, and a low-latency response to a request to adapt a level of demand may be of paramount importance to the successful operation of the FCR.

[0084] Furthermore, it may be necessary for the FCR scheme to be capable of selecting which loads to shed / add / control to achieve a desired outcome of containing a frequency of the electric grid within defined bounds. As such, the disclosed method and systems directly addresses this problem. That is, the disclosed method and systems provide a means to implement a flexibility scheme by managing a loading of an electric grid, as described in more detail below with reference to Figures 2 and 3.

[0085] In a method of load management for an electric grid flexibility scheme, according to an embodiment of the disclosure, during the FCR regulation there is a two-level strategy of selecting loads (vehicles and associated chargers) to start or stop charging. Firstly, a pool of available vehicles is divided into 2 sub-groups: a fastreacting group and a slow-reacting group, in terms power control. Some vehicles and chargers enable changing the charging power while the charging process is ongoing. That means, said vehicles and chargers can switch between low- and high-power, which may be a much faster operation than stopping the charging completely and restarting it. Such vehicles and chargers end up in the fast-reacting group, and the rest are put in the slow-reacting group.

[0086] A control algorithm (described below with reference to Figures 2 and 3) may be configured to:

[0087] - use the fast-reacting group to ramp up the power consumption quickly; and

[0088] - start the slow-reacting group at the same time.

[0089] Once the slow-reacting loads reach their high charging power, the fast-reacting loads may be switched back to low power, to reserve their battery capacity for later spikes during the FCR regulation period.

[0090] Inside the sub-pools, the vehicle’s neediness, e.g. a determined priority level, may be used to prioritize those vehicles which need more charging to reach their owners’ desired battery levels. Charging of the vehicles may be selected to be started or stopped to satisfy the controller’s error calculation, i.e. determined deviation, depending on their charging power.

[0091] Figure 2 depicts an example of a flow diagram of a method of load management for an electric grid flexibility scheme, according to an embodiment of the disclosure. A first series of depicted steps relate to a determination of a level of loading required by the electric grid. In a step 200, an operating frequency of the electric grid is determined. This may be directly measured, e.g. at one of the loads, or may be provided by the electrical energy distribution system 105, or communicated to the processing system 125 by other means. For example, a typical frequency of a supply may be approximately 50Hz or 60Hz.

[0092] In a step 210, a charging power demand is calculated based on the determined operating frequency using a region specific calculator. That is, an alternating current frequency of electrical power transferred via the electric grid may remain approximately at a nominal frequency, e.g. typically 50 Hz or 60Hz. However, an imbalance between supply and demand may result in a deviation from the nominal system frequency. If demand, e.g. load, exceeds supply then the AC frequency in the grid may drop below the nominal frequency. If supply exceeds demand then the AC frequency in the grid may increase above the nominal frequency. Exact balancing of instantaneous supply and demand in an electrical grid may be difficult to achieve in practice, and therefore minor deviations between the nominal frequency and the actual AC frequency of the grid may be tolerable, e.g. between 49.9 Hz and 50.1 Hz.

[0093] Continuing with this example, if the determined frequency deviates from the nominal frequency, then a calculation may be made of the loading, e.g. charging power, demand that incurs such a deviation. Such a calculation may be region specific, because a susceptibility of the electric grid to frequency fluctuations due to loading may vary geographically.

[0094] In a next step 210, an ideal power response is calculated. That is, a power response, e.g. change in loading of the electric grid, required to achieve the nominal frequency may be determined. The power response required may be a decrease in loading or may be an increase in loading of the electric grid.

[0095] A next step 215 involves categorizing each load of a plurality of loads into one of a fast reaction time group and a slow reaction time group according to a reaction time of the respective load to change a charging power in response to a charge operation command. In the depicted example, each load is a vehicle and an associated charger (collectively just referred to as a vehicle in the example). This categorization may be applied to all vehicles that are enrolled to participate in the FCR scheme.

[0096] The categorization of ‘fast’ and ‘slow’ reacting may be made in terms of power control, e.g., how quickly a control of a loading on the electric grid provided by the vehicle can be controlled. Some vehicle and charger combinations enable adaptation of the charging power while the charging process is ongoing. That is, for some vehicle and charger combinations it may be possible to switch between a high-power charging mode and a low-power charging mode, which may be a much faster operation than stopping the charging completely and restarting it. In the disclosed methods, such vehicle and charger combinations are put in the fast reaction time group, and the remaining vehicle and charger combinations are put in the slow reaction time group.

[0097] At a next step 220f following the step 215, a calculation is made of an expected power response from the fast reaction time group. That is, based on the enrolled vehicles that are in the fast reaction group, a total power response may be calculated, e.g. a total loading on the electric grid. At a subsequent step 225f, a deviation from the ideal response for that fast reaction time group is calculated. That is, an amount by which the loading provided by the fast reaction group deviates from the calculated loading to be provided by that fast reaction group to provide the ideal power response is calculated.

[0098] Similarly, and in some embodiments concurrently, at a step 220s following the step 215, a calculation is made of an expected power response from the slow reaction time group. That is, based on the enrolled vehicles that are in the slow reaction time group, a total power response may be calculated, e.g. a total loading on the electric grid. At a subsequent step 225s, a deviation from the ideal response for that slow reaction time group is calculated. That is, an amount by which the loading provided by the slow reaction group deviates from the calculated loading to be provided by that fast reaction group to provide the ideal power response is calculated.

[0099] If at step 225f the deviation from the ideal response for that fast reaction time group is determined to be positive, e.g. the loading on the electric grid is insufficient and needs to be increased to restore the nominal frequency, then at step 235f-a a list of vehicles in the fast reaction time group that are currently charging with low power charging mode is identified. In some embodiments, the list of vehicles in the fast reaction time group that are currently charging in the low power charging mode may be ordered by (or each entry associated with) a priority level, e.g. a degree of ‘neediness’. In some embodiments, a priority level for each vehicle may be determined based on a required charging time of the vehicle to reach a predefined charging level. In some embodiments, the required charging time may be based on a charging profile associated with the respective vehicle and charger combination.

[0100] At a next at step 240f-a (which in some embodiments may be performed in conjunction with or concurrent with a step 240s-a described below) a sufficient amount of the vehicles in the fast reaction time group are switched from the low power charging mode to the high-power charging mode to compensate for the deviation.

[0101] If at step 225f the deviation from the ideal response for that fast reaction time group is determined not to be positive, e.g. the loading on the electric grid is excessive and needs to be decreased to restore the nominal frequency, then at step 235f-b a list of vehicles in the fast reaction time group that are currently charging with high-power charging mode is identified. In some embodiments, the list of vehicles in the fast reaction time group that are currently charging in the high-power charging mode may be ordered by (or each entry associated with) a priority level, e.g. a degree of ‘neediness’. In some embodiments, a priority level for each vehicle may be determined based on a required charging time of the vehicle to reach a predefined charging level. In some embodiments, the required charging time may be based on a charging profile associated with the respective vehicle and charger combination.

[0102] At a next at step 240f-b (which in some embodiments may be performed in conjunction with or concurrent with a step 240s-b described below) a sufficient amount of the vehicles in the fast reaction time group are switched from the high-power charging mode to the low power charging mode to compensate for the deviation.

[0103] If at step 225s the deviation from the ideal response for that fast reaction time group is determined to be positive, e.g. the loading on the electric grid is insufficient and needs to be increased to restore the nominal frequency, then at step 235s-a a list of vehicles in the slow reaction time group that are currently not charging or in a paused charging mode is identified. In some embodiments, the list of vehicles in the slow reaction time group that are currently not charging or in a paused charging mode may be ordered by (or each entry associated with) a priority level, e.g. a degree of ‘neediness’. In some embodiments, a priority level for each vehicle may be determined based on a required charging time of the vehicle to reach a predefined charging level. In some embodiments, the required charging time may be based on a charging profile associated with the respective vehicle and charger combination.

[0104] At a next at step 240s-a (which in some embodiments may be performed in conjunction with or concurrent with a step 240f-a described above) a sufficient amount of the vehicles in the slow reaction time group are switched from not charging or in a paused charging mode to the high-power charging mode to compensate for the deviation.

[0105] If at step 225s the deviation from the ideal response for that fast reaction time group is determined not to be positive, e.g. the loading on the electric grid is excessive and needs to be decreased to restore the nominal frequency, then at step 235s-b a list of vehicles in the slow reaction time group that are currently charging, ,e.g. charging with full power, is identified. In some embodiments, the list of vehicles in the slow reaction time group that are currently charging may be ordered by (or each entry associated with) a priority level, e g. a degree of ‘neediness’. In some embodiments, a priority level for each vehicle may be determined based on a required charging time of the vehicle to reach a predefined charging level. In some embodiments, the required charging time may be based on a charging profile associated with the respective vehicle and charger combination.

[0106] At a next at step 240s-b (which in some embodiments may be performed in conjunction with or concurrent with a step 240f-b described above) a sufficient amount of the vehicles in the slow reaction time group are switched from charging to a not charging mode or a paused charging mode to compensate for the deviation.

[0107] In a final step 250, updates may be logged. Such updates may comprise data corresponding to a charging power of one or more of the loads and / or a charging mode of the one of more of the loads. Such updates may comprise data corresponding to a frequency of the AC supply of the electric grid.

[0108] The above-described steps 200 to 250 may be repeated periodically, e.g. every 1 second or the like, during a FCR regulation period. For example, following completion of step 250, the system may revert to step 200.

[0109] Figure 3 depicts a Simplified Finite State Machine diagram describing transitions around FCR regulation. The state machine described by Figure 3 may be implemented by the processing system 125, and in particular on the one or more servers 135.

[0110] In a high-level summary, a current state of a vehicle is reflected in a Mealy-type Finite State Machine, which holds information about both whether the vehicle is plugged in or not and whether an owner allowed the vehicle to participate in the FCR regulation process (steps 300, 305 and 310). A check of the vehicle’s and connected charger’s OEM’s integration status is also performed (steps 315 and 320). Enrolment filters based on the check are stored, because a maximum frequency of updates depends on the quality of the integration.

[0111] In example embodiments, the charging location may be determined by either the charger’s location defined by the user during the on-boarding or the vehicle’s geolocation obtained from the OEM’s API, e.g. the charger or vehicle OEM’s API. In a step (not depicted), a power profile for the OEM’s vehicle and charger combination is sought. Said power profile may be stored in a library, or otherwise calculated. Then, the “neediness” of the vehicle is calculated, i.e. the above-described priority level, taking into account a required charging time to reach the owner’s desired charging level with the charging power that the vehicle and charger combination uses. In various embodiments, there may be different variants of the neediness calculation, depending upon any regional configuration of the FCR regulation, taking into consideration for example other scheduled regulation periods happening later or the user’s desired departure time.

[0112] References in Figure 3 to a “slow pool” will be understood to correspond to the above-described “slow reaction time group”. References in Figure 3 to a “fast pool” will be understood to correspond to the above-described “fast reaction time group”. References in Figure 3 to a “full power” will be understood to correspond to the abovedescribed “high-power charging mode”. References in Figure 3 to a “Smart Paused” will be understood to correspond to the above-described “paused-charging mode”.

[0113] Although the disclosure has been described in terms of particular embodiments as set forth above, it should be understood that these embodiments are illustrative only and that the claims are not limited to those embodiments. Those skilled in the art will be able to make modifications and alternatives in view of the disclosure, which are contemplated as falling within the scope of the appended claims. Each feature disclosed or illustrated in the present specification may be incorporated in any embodiments, whether alone or in any appropriate combination with any other feature disclosed or illustrated herein.

Claims

CLAIMS:1 . A method of load management for an electric grid flexibility scheme, the method comprising: determining a level of loading required by the electric grid; categorizing each load of a plurality of loads into one of a fast reaction time group and a slow reaction time group according to a reaction time of the respective load to change a charging power in response to a charge operation command; and issuing a charge operation command to one or more loads in the fast reaction time group and a charge operation command to one or more loads in the slow reaction time group such that the plurality of loads provide the level of loading required by the electric grid.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein each load of the plurality of loads comprises an electric vehicle and an electric vehicle charger.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, comprising a preceding step of determining that each load of the plurality of loads is configured to perform the charging operation in response to receiving the charge operation command.

4. The method of any preceding claim, wherein: the charge operation command to one or more loads in the fast reaction time group comprises a command to switch between a high-power charging mode and a low-power charging mode; and / or the charge operation command to one or more loads in the slow reaction time group comprises a command to switch between a high-power charging mode and a paused-charging mode in which a charging operation is paused.

5. The method of any preceding claim, wherein determining a level of loading required by the electric grid comprises determining an operating frequency of the electric grid.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein determining a level of loading required by the electric grid comprises determining a charging power demand based on the determined operating frequency using a geographical region-specific calculator.

7. The method of claim 6, comprising: determining an ideal power response based on the charging power demand; calculating an expected power response from the loads in each of the fast reaction time group and the slow reaction time group; and calculating a deviation from the ideal power response for each of the fast reaction time group and the slow reaction time group.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein when the calculated deviation is positive: loads in the fast reaction time group that are charging in the low-power charging mode are ordered according to determined priority levels; loads in the slow reaction time group that are not charging and / or are in the paused-charging mode are ordered according to determined priority levels; and charge operation commands are issued to switch enough of the loads in the fast reaction time group and in the slow reaction time group to high-power charging mode, based on the respective priority levels, to compensate for the deviation.

9. The method of claim 7 or 8, wherein when the calculated deviation is negative: loads in the fast reaction time group that are charging in the high-power charging mode are ordered according to determined priority levels; loads in the slow reaction time group that are charging in the high-power charging mode are ordered according to determined priority levels; and charge operation commands are issued to switch enough of the loads in the fast reaction time group to low-power charging mode and in the slow reaction time group to paused-charging mode, based on the respective priority levels, to compensate for the deviation.

10. The method of claim 8 or 9, wherein the priority levels for each load of the plurality of loads is determined based on a required charging time of the load toreach a predefined charging level, and optionally wherein the required charging time is based on a charging profile associated with the respective load.

11. The method of any preceding claim, wherein each load of the plurality of loads is selected for participation in the electric grid flexibility scheme based on at least one of: a signal indicating that the load is configured to operate in a charging mode at the start of electric grid flexibility scheme regulation period; predetermined data indicating that the load is not excluded from the electric grid flexibility scheme; the load being configured to provide charging power updates at a frequency required by the electric grid flexibility scheme; the load being located in a geographical region in which the electric grid flexibility scheme is required to operate; a known power profile for the load; and / or a determination that the load comprises available electrical power storage capacity.

12. The method of any preceding claim, wherein the electric grid flexibility scheme is a Frequency Containment Reserve (FCR) scheme, and optionally the steps of the method of claim 1 are repeated periodically during a FCR regulation period.

13. An energy flexibility management system comprising: an electrical energy distribution system; a plurality of loads configured to receive energy from the electrical energy distribution system; and a processing system in communication with the electrical energy distribution system and the plurality of loads, wherein the processing system is configured to: determine a level of loading required by the electrical energy distribution system; categorize each load of the plurality of loads into one of a fast reaction time group and a slow reaction time group according to areaction time of the respective load to change a charging power in response to a charge operation command; and issue a charge operation command to one or more loads in the fast reaction time group and in the slow reaction time group such that the plurality of loads provide the level of loading required by the electrical energy distribution system.

14. The energy flexibility management system of claim 13, wherein the electrical energy distribution system is configured to implement a scheme to adapt the provision of electrical power to the one or more loads to contain a supply frequency of the electrical power to within a targeted frequency range.

15. The energy flexibility management system of claim 13 or 14, wherein the processing system comprises a user equipment configured to selectively enable participation in the scheme at least one of the plurality of loads.

16. A computer-implemented method of: determining a level of loading required by an electric grid; categorizing each load of a plurality of loads into one of a fast reaction time group and a slow reaction time group according to a reaction time of the respective load to change a charging power in response to a charge operation command; and issuing a charge operation command to one or more loads in the fast reaction time group and a charge operation command to one or more loads in the slow reaction time group such that the plurality of loads provide the level of loading required by the electric grid.

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