Electrical load forecasting in industry
Electricity is presently the most important energy vector in both the domestic and industrial sectors. Since, unlike fuels, it is hard and expensive to store electricity, there is a need for a precise coupling between its generation and demand. Electrical energy load forecasting, hence, is very vital. Depending upon the time range (forecasting horizon) electrical load forecasting is classified into the following three categories:
- Short-term load forecasting: The forecast is made for one hour to a few weeks
- Medium-term load forecasting: The forecast duration spreads from a few weeks to a few months
- Long-term load forecasting: Here, the forecasting is done from a few months to years
Depending upon the need and application one may have to plan either one or all of the previous load forecasting categories. In recent years, a lot of research work has been done in the area of short-term load forecasting (STLF). STLF can assist industries by providing an accurate...