Optimal methodology for a machining process scheduling in spot electricity markets

Electricity spot markets have introduced hourly variations in the price of electricity. These variations allow the increase of the energy efficiency by the appropriate scheduling and adaptation of the industrial production to the hourly cost of electricity in order to obtain the maximum profit for the industry. In this article a mathematical optimization model simulates costs and the electricity demand of a machining process. The resultant problem is solved using the generalized reduced gradient approach, to find the optimum production schedule that maximizes the industry profit considering the hourly variations of the price of electricity in the spot market. Different price scenarios are studied to analyze the impact of the spot market prices for electricity on the optimal scheduling of the machining process and on the industry profit. The convenience of the application of the proposed model is shown especially in cases of very high electricity prices.