Example

To understand the tool more clearly let us look at the example of PG&E’s Capacity Bidding Program (CBP). The CBP is a demand response program that provides financial incentives to customers who can reduce their electricity usage during peak demand periods. The program has three options: the Prescribed, Elect and Elect+ option. The difference between the options is the maximum load reduction days and hours. The prices are the same for these three options. The notification time that PG&E says is 5pm the day before the event.

Based on the tariff structure, the program parameters for the PG&E CBP’s Prescribed option are

PG&E Capacity Bidding Program’s Prescribed Option

Program Parameter	Value
Program name	PG&E CBP Prescribed
Minimum number of event days	1
Maximum number of event days	6
Minimum duration of event	1
Maximum duration of event	8
Program start time	16
Program end time	20
Notification type	day_before
Notification time	17
Maximum consecutive event days	3
Number of similar weekdays	10

For quick start to simulate dr events

from datetime import datetime
from dr_simulator import dr_events
from dr_simulator.visulization_helper import plot_dr_events

# Set the start and end date and time for the simulation
start_dt = datetime(2021, 7, 1, 0, 0, 0)
end_dt = datetime(2021, 8, 1, 0, 0, 0)

# Create a DR event simulator object
dr_event = dr_events.DemandResponseEvents(start_dt, end_dt)

# Set the program parameters
program_parameters = {
   'min_days': 1,
   'max_days': 6,
   'min_duration': 1,
   'max_duration': 8,
   'program_start_time': 16,
   'program_end_time': 20,
   'notification_type': 'day_before',
   'notification_time': 17,
   'max_consecutive_event_days': 3,
   'number_similar_weekdays': 10
}

# set the simulation parameters
simulation_parameters = {
   'n_days': {
      'distribution': 'poisson',
      'distribution_parameters': {'lam': 3}
   },
   'event_duration': {
      'distribution': 'poisson',
      'distribution_parameters': {'lam': 4, 'size': 1}
   },
   'start_time': {
      'distribution': 'uniform',
      'distribution_parameters': {'low': 16, 'high': 21, 'size': 1}
   },
   'event_days': {
      'p_dates': None
   }
}

# Simulate the events
event_dict = dr_events.generate_event_dict(
   program_parameters=program_parameters,
   simulation_parameters=simulation_parameters
   )

# visualize the events on the calender
fig, ax, cbar = plot_dr_events(
   start_dt,
   end_dt,
   dr_event.event_days,
   dr_event.event_duration
   )

cbar.set_label('Event Duration (hours)')
fig.show()

You should see a calendar with the simulated events.

Please use the marimo notebook app for a more in-depth example scenario.

1. Install dr-simulator package

2. From the command line, run the following command to start the marimo notebook app

$ marimo run dr_events_simulator.py

3. Follow the steps in the notebook to simulate the events for the PG&E CBP’s Prescribed option.