Dissertation

A Dynamic Pricing Framework for Water Demand Management Using Advanced Metering Infrastructure Data

Alghamdi, Faisal Mohammed G

2021

Overview

Cities face continuous challenges in maintaining and operating reliable water supply systems. Management strategies are needed to support both water conservation and cost reduction of infrastructure operations. New pricing policies can be used as an instrument of water demand management to reduce the cost of operating, maintaining, and expanding water distribution networks. As utilities adopt advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), new data that describe water consumption at high temporal resolution and accuracy are available and can be used to evaluate demand management policies. In this research, dynamic pricing strategies are developed and evaluated as a tool to enhance the performance and life of water distribution systems (WDSs). This research investigates the performance of a dynamic pricing framework designed to flatten the daily demand curve by reducing peak demand. Demand changes reduce peak flows within the WDS to mitigate the cost of energy. Several criteria are used to evaluate the effects of dynamic pricing on drinking water infrastructure management, including the cost of water for consumers and the hydraulic performance of the network, based on water loss, peak flow, energy consumption, energy cost, and water age. AMI data collected at nearly 20,000 accounts at Lakewood City in California are used to develop a model of expected water use and simulate changes in consumption and innetwork metrics. This research developed four dynamic pricing policies with different parameters and levels of constraints to test the model. Analysis is conducted to explore reductions in the peak demand, reduction in total water demands, and hydraulic performance. Results demonstrate that reductions in peak demand ranging from 8% to 20% lead to a 40% reduction in peak energy demands and a 10-11% reduction in total energy, with a maximum of 13% reduction in energy cost. Cost savings reflect the importance of dynamic pricing as a demand-side strategy to manage infrastructure. Operational costs can be lowered without new infrastructure investment or expansion, while continuing to meet urban water demands.

• Publisher: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses
• Subject: Civil engineering / Elasticity of demand / Environmental economics / Environmental engineering / Hydrologic sciences / Price elasticity / Pricing policies / Water Resources Management
• ISBN: 9798759926924