Performance of industrial melting pots in the provision of dynamic frequency response in the Great Britain power system

•Thermodynamics of Melting Pot (MP) loads is modeled based on field measurements.•Power consumption of MPs is controlled to keep varying with grid frequency changes.•Frequency response (FR) of MPs is similar but faster than that of generators.•FR provided by loads can mitigate the impact of reduced system inertia.•Firm FR in the GB power system is most beneficial for load aggregators to tender.

As a result of the increasing integration of Renewable Energy Source (RES), maintenance of the balance between supply and demand in the power system is more challenging because of RES's intermittency and uncontrollability. The smart control of demand is able to contribute to the balance by providing the grid frequency response. This paper uses the industrial Melting Pot (MP) loads as an example. A thermodynamic model depicting the physical characteristics of MPs was firstly developed based on field measurements carried out by Open Energi. A distributed control was applied to each MP which dynamically changes the aggregated power consumption of MPs in proportion to changes in grid frequency while maintaining the primary heating function of each MP. An aggregation of individual MP models equipped with the control was integrated with the Great Britain (GB) power system models. Case studies verified that the aggregated MPs are able to provide frequency response to the power system. The response from MPs is similar but faster than the conventional generators and therefore contributes to the reduction of carbon emissions by replacing the spinning reserve capacity of fossil-fuel generators. Through the reviews of the present balancing services in the GB power system, with the proposed frequency control strategy, the Firm Frequency Response service is most beneficial at present for demand aggregators to tender for. All studies have been conducted in partnership between Cardiff University, Open Energi London - Demand Aggregator, and National Grid - System Operator in GB to ensure the quality and compliance of results.