A Stochastic Bilevel Model for the Energy Hub Manager Problem

A bilevel stochastic programming problem (BSPP) model of the decision-making of an energy hub manager is presented. Hub managers seek ways to maximize their profit by selling electricity and heat. They have to make decisions about: 1) the level of involvement in forward contracts, electricity pool markets, and natural gas networks and 2) the electricity and heat offering prices to the clients. These decisions are made under uncertainty of pool prices, demands as well as the prices offered by rival hub managers. On the other hand, the clients try to minimize the total cost of energy procurement. This two-agent relationship is presented as a BSPP in which the hub manager is placed in the upper level and the clients in the lower one. The bilevel scheme is converted to its equivalent single-level scheme using the Karush-Kuhn-Tucker optimality conditions although there are two bilinear products related to electricity and heat. The heat bilinear product is replaced by a heat price-quota curve and the electricity bilinear product is linearized using the strong duality theorem. In addition, conditional value at risk is used to reduce the unfavorable effects of the uncertainties. The effectiveness of the proposed model is evaluated in various simulations of a realistic case study.