ABSTRACT
In the power grid, demand side management is considered to shape the power load
for more stability, that is, during a certain period of time the electricity demand is
redistributed for the balance of supply and demand. Some load shaping methods
include peak clipping, valley filling, strategic conservation, and load shifting [91].
Usually, these methods can be divided into two categories. One is direct load control
implemented by utilities, such as peak clipping. The other is indirect load control by
motivating customers to use more electricity when the valley load appears and less
electricity when the peak load appears, such as load shifting. Dynamic pricing is con-
sidered to be one of the effective motivation strategies for load shaping, especially
in a smart grid, which has attracted more and more attentions due to rising energy
costs and the urgent need of for reducing global carbon emissions [92]. As presented
by the U.S. Department of Energy [93], a smart grid is characterized by a two-way
flow of electricity and information, and will incorporate into the grid the benefits of
distributed computing and communications to deliver real-time information and en-
able the near-instantaneous balance of supply and demand at the device level. Hence,
real-time communications plays an important role in a smart grid.
