NEWS

Coordinated ENErgy Resource manaGEment under uncerTainty considering electrIc vehiCles and demand flexibility in distribution networks

PES GM 2022 – 25 July 2022

CENERGETIC has participated in the last IEEE Power and Energy Society General Meeting (IEEE PES GM 2022) held in Denver, Colorado, USA, during 17-21 July. Doctor João Soares and Professor Zita Vale attended the event and several meetings where researchers of this project have been involved or responsible, including the Working Group on Intelligent Data Mining Analysis (IDMA – https://site.ieee.org/psace-idma/) and the Taskforce on the Open Datasets (https://site.ieee.org/psace-ods/).

Two panels organized by the IDMA working group, currently chaired by Zita Vale, took place at the event, namely the Panel “Benchmarking of Artificial Intelligence Methods for Energy Generation and Consumption Forecasting” chaired by Professor Zita Vale, and the Panel “Artificial intelligence approaches for energy management in rural and urban energy communities” chaired by João Soares. Those panels led to interesting and fruitful discussions between the audience and the panelist members.

In addition, Professor Zita Vale delivered an interesting speech on the Panel “Performance Evaluation Metrics for Artificial Intelligence and Traditional Approaches in Modern Power Systems”, with the talk “Trustful Artificial Intelligence based solutions for Power and Energy: Evaluation Metrics and Explainability”.

Last day of GECAD at the IEEE PES GM 2022: Professor Hugo Morais (left) from Tecnico Lisboa, Professor Zita Vale and Doctor João Soares (right) from GECAD - Polytechnic of Porto

Last day of GECAD at the IEEE PES GM 2022: Professor Hugo Morais (left) from Tecnico Lisboa, Professor Zita Vale and Doctor João Soares (right) from GECAD – Polytechnic of Porto

GECCO 2022 – 25 July 2022

CENERGETIC has participated in the last Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference (GECCO 2022) held in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, during July 9-13. Doctor João Soares and Professor Zita Vale attended the event being committed to announce the winner of the competition on Evolutionary Computation in the Energy Domain: Risk-based Energy Scheduling at the competition session. This was the 6th edition of a series of smart grids competitions that have been organized by João Soares and his peers in top-tier international conferences such as GECCO and CEC since 2017 (http://www.gecad.isep.ipp.pt/smartgridcompetitions/).

In addition, during the congress a paper was presented at the Evolutionary Computation and Decision Making (EC+DM) workshop, titled “Preliminary Results of Advanced Heuristic Optimization in the Risk-based Energy Scheduling Competition” (the full paper can be access at https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3520304.3535080 and https://zenodo.org/record/6867839).

João Soares and the general chair of the conference, Markus Wagner, from the University of Adelaide at the social dinner.

João Soares and the general chair of the conference, Markus Wagner, from the University of Adelaide at the social dinner.

Web MetaERM launch – 29 June 2022

MetaERM is a web-based platform that allows users to use several case studies and meta-heuristic algorithms to perform simulations related to smart grids. It is currently available on GECAD’s servers for testing and internal use. However, as the application develops it may also be used for educational purposes or even for use in related competitions. MetaERM is available at https://www.gecad.isep.ipp.pt/Meta-ERM/.

CENERGETIC Project Workshop – GECAD Energy Projects Event 2022 – 27 April 2022

On the 26th-27th of April 2022, GECAD organized an event “GECAD Energy Projects Event 2022” under the scope of ongoing projects. The event was held at ISEP and counted with the participation of not only GECAD’s researchers but also external participants such as UNESP from Brazil.
The CENERGETIC team overviewed the project’s developments, giving special focus on the latest achievements, and discussed future research directions in this event. The workshop included a papers session, discussion session and Q&A session to discuss with the audience about the project’s outcomes of CENERGETIC results. The main aim of the workshop was to discuss the problems, and challenges of improving the integration of renewable energy resources and electric vehicles (EVs) in smart grids.

Optimal Planning of Electric Vehicles Charging Stations – 7 April 2022

Tayenne Dias de Lima participated in the curricular unit of Electric Mobility (MOBIE). She gave a talk on “ Optimal Planning of Electric Vehicles Charging Stations” in Polytechnic of Porto (ISEP/IPP).

Operation of Distribution Systems with High Participation of Distributed Energy Resources Workshop – 28/01-28/02, 2022

The mission had as its purpose the interaction and face-to-face visit with the partner of the CENERGETIC project in Brazil, UNESP. The aim was to consolidate and strengthen the research and development relationship with the partner, as well as in the fulfillment of the objectives of the project.

On this visit there was interaction with researchers from LaPSEE. A workshop was held on the 11th of February with around 50-60 participants entitled “Operation of Distribution Systems with High Participation of Distributed Energy Resources”. For more information check here.

In addition to the preparation of the workshop, several working meetings were held on technical-scientific issues of the project. The possibility of continuing with the mobility of researchers, PhD students from UNESP (Ilha Solteira) to GECAD/ISEP, was discussed, with 3 mobilities already planned in the future in line with the project of PhD students.

IEEE Symposium Series on Computational Intelligence IEEE SSCI 2021- December 5-7, 2021

Bruno Canizes participated in the IEEE Symposium Series on Computational Intelligence held in Orlando, Florida. He gave his talk on “Evolutionary Algorithms applied to the Intraday Energy Resource Scheduling in the Context of Multiple Aggregators”. For more information check here and online presentation check here.

Additionally, he presented the paper “A Statistical Analysis of Performance in the 2021 CEC-GECCO-PESGM Competition on Evolutionary Computation in the Energy Domain”. For online presentation check here.

Sustainable Development Applications Seminar in Laboratory of Electrical Engineering and Power Electronics – 24 November, 2021

João Soares participated in the Sustainable Development Applications Seminar in Laboratory of Electrical Engineering and Power Electronics. He gave his talk on “Applications of computational intelligence towards a more sustainable smart power system” in Amphi ATRIUM, ESPRIT, Université de Lille, “Cité Scientifiques”. For more information check here.

16th International Conference on Soft Computing Models in Industrial and Environmental Applications -September 22-24, 2021

José Almeida attended the 16th International Conference on Soft Computing Models in Industrial and Environmental Applications on September 22-24 presenting the paper “Intraday Energy Resource Scheduling for Load Aggregators Considering Local Market”. A virtual apresentation was done and the work was published on Springer International Publishing. For more information check here and for online presentation check here.

The 8th International Conference on Energy and Environment Research ICEER – September 13-17 2021

João Soares participated in the 8th International Conference on Energy and Environment Researchd on September 14th presenting the paper “Energy Resource Scheduling Optimization for SmartPower Distribution Grids – Hour-Ahead Horizon” – Virtual presentation.

Additionally, on the same day José Almeida presented the paper “Electric vehicles local flexibility strategies for congestion relief on distribution networks”, which won the best oral presentation award at session 4 – Virtual presentation. For more information check here.


IEEE Congress on Evolutionary Computation (CEC) – 28/06-01/07, 2021

José Almeida attended the IEEE Congress on Evolutionary Computation presenting the work paper “Evolutionary Algorithms for energy Scheduling under Uncertainty considering Multiple Aggregators” (virtual presentation). For more information check  here and for online presentation check here.


1st Energy Informatics, Academy Conference Asia – May 29-30, 2021

João Soares participated on the 1st Energy Informatics Academy Conference on Asia, Beijing China presenting the research paper “Joint Optimal Allocation of Electric Vehicle Charging Stations and Renewable Energy Sources Including CO2 Emissions” (online presentation). For more information about the conference check here and for online presentation check here.


14th International Symposium INTELS’20 – December 14-16, 2020

José Almeida participated in the INTELS’20 Conference on December 14/16, 2020 presenting the work “Coordination strategies in distribution network considering multiple aggregators and high penetration of electric vehicles”. This paper was published in Procedia Computer Science (virtual presentation). For more information check here and for online presentation check here.


Data for Energy consumption and renewable generation data of 5 aggregators – 15 minute resolution (13 bus grid)

Type: Energy consumption and renewable generation data

Period of data collection: 19-03-2019 to 25-03-2019 (15-minute 672 periods)

Resolution: 15 minutes

Network: 13-bus MV grid

Aggregator list:

  • Aggregator 1: Shopping Mall; Hospital; Fire Station
  • Aggregator 2: 15 houses
  • Aggregator 3: 7 Office buildings
  • Aggregator 4: Wind, PV
  • Aggregator 5: Slow and fast-charging stations of electric vehicles

Further data:

  • Market prices 2019 summer and winter
  • Wind generation curve

DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.4399670

Download: here


Workshop Sobre a Operação de Modernos Sistemas de Distribuição: Desafios, Propostas, e Ferramentas

II Workshop sobre Pesquisas em Veículos Elétricos

9h00 – 12h (Pacific Time) Saturday 03-Oct-2020

Organization: Prof. Dr. Rubén Romero, John Fredy Franco, Luís Gustavo Cordero, Danny García

Presenters: Prof. Dr. Rubén Romero (UNESP), Dr. João Soares (ISEP), Me. Luís Gustavo Cordero, Dr. Fernando Lezama (ISEP), Me. Tayenne Dias de Lima (UNESP), Dr. Carlos Sabillón (Ryerson University)

Program: here


Recorded sessions and presentations of the Online Training Course on Machine Learning, Agent-based Systems, and Optimization in Power and Energy

Part I Session 1: Machine learning methods: a general overview (Carlos Ramos) – ppt & video
Part I Session 2: Multi-Agent Simulation and Emulation in Power and Energy (Zita Vale) – ppt & video
Part I Session 3: Machine learning methodologies and strategic behaviour in electricity market negotiations (Tiago Pinto) – ppt & video
Part I Session 4: Multi-agent based real-time infrastructure for energy: modelling and simulation of a farm microgrid (Pedro Faria) – ppt & video
Part I Session 5: Open discussion and closing remarks (Carlos Ramos, Zita Vale, Tiago Pinto, and Pedro Faria) – video

Part II Session 1: Metaheuristics methods and basics of evolutionary techniques for optimization algorithm (João Soares) – ppt & video
Part II Session 2: Handling specific heuristics and adaptations of complex optimization program in the context of smart grids (Fernando Lezama) – ppt & video
Part II Session 3: Practical experimentation and case studies in smart grids optimizations (Pedro Faria) – ppt & video
Part II Session 4: Open discussion and closing remarks (João Soares, Fernando Lezama, and Pedro Faria) – video

All recorded sessions: videos


Free Online Training Course on Machine Learning, Agent-based Systems, and Optimization in Power and Energy

14h00 – 19h15 (WEST)  Friday 03-Jul-2020

This online training course is divided in two parts: Machine Learning and Agent-based Systems in Power and Energy, and Evolutionary Optimization Methods and Applications in Power and Energy. The first part will be presented by Professor Zita Vale (Full Professor at ISEP/P.Porto), Professor Carlos Ramos (Full Professor at ISEP/P.Porto), Dr. Tiago Pinto (Invited Professor at ISEP/P.Porto), and Dr. Pedro Faria (Invited Professor at ISEP/P.Porto) considering their work developed under MAS-Society project. The second part will be presented by Dr. João Soares, Dr. Pedro Faria (Invited Professor at ISEP/P.Porto), and Dr. Fernando Lezama, considering their work developed under CENERGETIC, and COLORS projects. This training course is online and free of charge. The participants who attend will receive certification.

Program: here.

Free but mandatory registration: here.


Call for Post-doctoral Fellowship in Integration of Electric Vehicles on Grid Operation, UNESP, Ilha Solteira, Brazil – 1 April 2020

The São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) opened on April 1st an application to select a candidate as a postdoctoral intern in a thematic project at the Department of Electrical Engineering of the São Paulo State University (UNESP) in Ilha Solteira. The selected candidate would start the project on July 1st and would need to be able to finish this project in a duration of 12 months. The project in question has the title “Coordinated energy resource management under uncertainty considering electric vehicles and demand flexibility in distribution systems”, being professor Rúben Romero the principal investigator of the project. In this project, it is proposed the development of a stochastic approach to manage the impact of the large-scale penetration of electric vehicles (EVs) on the electrical distribution systems (EDSs). The selection process on the 11th of May, and the result can be seen on the website https://www.feis.unesp.br/#!/ppgee.


I Luso-Brazilian Workshop held on ISEP, Porto, Portugal – 20 January 2020

The first Luso-Brazilian Workshop has been held on January 17 at the premises of the School of Engineering of Polytechnic of Porto (ISEP) with a total number of 24 participants. Both Portuguese and Brazilian teams joined to discuss and present their ideas on topics related to the project. The presentations involved the integration of renewable energies and electric vehicles (EVs) in smart-grids. A social dinner at Abadia Restaurant in Porto downtown with the researchers involved in the project followed after the workshop.


CENERGETIC participates in ISAP 2019 presenting the paper “Optimal bidding in local markets using evolutionary computation” – 16 December 2019

During the conference the paper “Optimal bidding in local markets using evolutionary computation” was presented at the 20th International Conference on Intelligent System Applications for Power Systems. The venue was in IIT Delhi premises between 10-14 December. The presented paper explores the use of evolutionary algorithms (EAs) to solve a bi-level optimization problem that arises when trading energy in an local market (LM). We compare the performance of different EAs under a realistic case study with nine agents trading energy in the day-ahead LM. The algorithms include HyDE-DF previously developped and presented internationally by the team in GECCO 2019 and scoring a excellent rank in a previous competition. The presented results suggest that EAs can provide solutions in which all agents can improve their energy costs and profits. It is shown the advantages in terms of profits that an LM can bring to market participants, thereby increasing the tolerable penetration of renewable resources and facilitating the energy transition. In addition, a tutorial on “Evolutionary computation applications in the smart grid domain” was also given in ISAP 2019 by the PI of CENERGETIC team. The research work is currently being advanced to bring new developments on the top of previously published results.


CENERGETIC participates in GECCO 2019 presenting the latest results of the project – 25 July 2019

During the conference (13-17 July), the CENERGETIC workshop of SmartEA was organized together with IAM (Industry Applications of Metaheuritics). The presentation of the article concerning the business models for electric vehicles flexibility has been done in those workshops reaching an interesting audience. In addition, CENERGETIC participated in the 100-digit challenge competition session, where the team was invited to present and detail the algorithm “HyDE-DF” developed in the project, which ranked the third place among 36 other participants. The competition organized by CENERGETIC team was also discussed and presented during the congress. The winner received a certificate in the closing ceremony represented by Pedro Julian Garcia from Universidad Nacional de Colombia.

Pedro Julian Garcia from Universidad Nacional de Colombia receiving the winner certificate of the competition

CENERGETIC algorithm ranks third in CEC/GECCO/SEMCCO competition among 38 other algorithms worldwide – 7 July 2019

The HyDE-DF algorithm developed by Dr. Fernando Lezama and also co-authored by Dr. Joao Soares, Mr. Ricardo Faia and Professor Zita Vale has been ranked third place in the 100-Digit Challenge competition with 93 points out of 100.
The 100-Digit Challenge for single objective, real-parameter optimization resembles the original version by Oxford’s Nick Trefethen since 2002 where contestants are asked to solve (optimize) ten state of the art optimization functions to an accuracy of 10 digits each. As in the original challenge, one point is awarded for each correct digit, so the maximum total score for all ten functions is again 100.
CENERGETIC project is putting a great effort into developing excellent algorithms to be able to deal with the most difficult optimization functions in the state of the art. This will contribute to improving current smart grid solutions that need adequate optimization tools as stated in the project’s goal.


Workshop held on premises of Ilha Solteira, UNESP, Brazil – 16 February 2019

The workshop with the title “I Workshop Pesquisas sobre Veículos Elétricos no LAPSEE” has been held on 16th February 2019, Ilha Solteira, UNESP, Brazil. The total number of participants was 14 participants. The presentations (in Portuguese) can be downloaded here.


Researchers from GECAD/CENERGETIC team visited Honda Research Institute (HRI) – 26 November 2018

The visit has been held in Honda RI premises involving researchers from HRI and 3 researchers from GECAD. João Soares and Fernando Lezama gave their talks on “Integration of electric vehicles in the grid” and “Computational intelligence for energy resource management in smart grids”, respectively. Extensive discussions and other presentations from HRI has been followed.

Previously, the team had the opportunity to meet HRI researchers and their work at GECCO 2017 and WCCI 2018 last July in Rio de Janeiro.


João Soares, the PI of CENERGETIC will participate in the electric mobility days 23-24 November at ISEP

Dr. João Soares from GECAD and PI of CENERGETIC will participate in the next edition of the electric mobility days between 23-24 November in the panel of infrastructure and e-mobility management with a talk on “Integration of electric vehicles in the electricity network”.

Dr. João Soares has been in this line of research for 10 years with intensive work in the scope of simulation of electric vehicles in the electricity network and advanced integration of them by proposing intelligent algorithms.

Check the full program of the electric mobility days in (http://www.isep.ipp.pt/Page/ViewPage/JME_Programa) and register for the event.


Kick-off, October 3 2018

The team of CENERGETIC has met on October 3 2018 at 14h30 (Lisbon Time) and 10h30 (Sao Paulo time) for the kick-off of the project. The meeting has been held remotely with the Brazilian team from UNESP.

The team has discussed the planning details and some adjustments necessary to the approved proposal in April 2018 by FCT. The budget for the Portuguese team is around 240k euros (FCT funding agency) and the Brazilian team around 221k Brazilian reais (FAPESP funding agency). Secondments are expected between the two institutions during the duration of the project.

The kick-off slides can be found here Presentation CENERGETIC-SAICT FCT 2018.