Table 1 DR objectives derived from the literature

Ob1

Cost minimization for a (single) participant (savings in electricity bills) or even market-wide (e.g., through more efficient use of the infrastructure).

(Balijepalli et al. 2011; Albadi and El-Saadany 2008; Aghaei and Alizadeh 2013; Abdollahi et al. 2012; Gkatzikis et al. 2013)

Ob2

Minimization of peak loads in the consumption profile, to reduce the need of high spinning reserves, etc.

(Balijepalli et al. 2011; Conejo et al. 2010; Raza et al. 2013; Gyamfi et al. 2010)

Ob3

Load profile flattening by shifting demand, thereby reducing the cost of producing electrical energy.

(Conejo et al. 2010; Raza et al. 2013)

Ob4

Ensuring reliability to reduce the risk of outages and ensure the ability to react to contingencies by holding a spinning reserve.

(Abdollahi et al. 2012; Conejo et al. 2010; Raza et al. 2013; Zakariazadeh et al. 2014; Wang et al. 2013)

Ob5

Maximization of market performance by allowing consumers to affect the market, thereby reducing price volatility in the spot market.

(Albadi and El-Saadany 2008)

Ob6

Maximization of users’ utility (often also called welfare), to maximize the users comfort and preferences.

(Conejo et al. 2010)

Ob7

Efficiency of infrastructure usage to save external kWh.

(Balijepalli et al. 2011; Aghaei and Alizadeh 2013; Raza et al. 2013)