Efficient energy dispatching in smart microgrids using an integration of fuzzy AHP and TOPSIS assisted by linear programming

Energy dispatching in smart (micro)grids must take into account more conflicting objectives (or criteria), such as power reliability and quality, proper handling of the electricity demand, and cost decrease. The choice of the best alternative in energy dispatching decisions can be dealt with as a multi-criteria optimization and decision making problem. To this aim, we propose the use of linear programming to generate the possible alternatives, and the integration of fuzzy AHP and TOPSIS to select the best alternative. In particular, fuzzy AHP and TOPSIS are used, respectively, to prioritize the criteria and to evaluate the alternatives with respect to four conflicting criteria, namely, environmental impact, cost of the energy, distance of supply, and load level of power lines.