Abstract
Electrical energy consumption forecasting is, nowadays, essential in order to deal with the new paradigm of consumers' active participation in the power and energy system. The uncertainty related to the variability of consumption is associated to numerous factors, such as consumers' habits, the environmental temperature, luminosity, etc. Current forecasting methods are not suitable to deal with such a combination of input variables, with often highly variable influence on the outcomes of the actual energy consumption. This paper presents a study on the application of five different methods based on fuzzy rule-based systems. This type of method is able to find associations between the distinct input variables, thus creating rules that support and improve the actual forecasting process. A case study is presented, showing the results of applying these five methods to predict the consumption of a real building: the Thales TRT building, in France.

Abstract

Abstract
Power and energy systems lack decision-support systems that enable studying big problems as a whole. The interoperability between multi-agent systems that address specific parts of the global problem is essential. Ontologies ease interoperability between heterogeneous systems providing semantic meaning to the information exchanged between the various parties. This paper presents the practical application of a society of multi agent systems, which uses ontologies to enable the interoperability between different types of agent-based simulators, directed to the simulation and operation of electricity markets, smart grids and residential energy management. Real data-based demonstration shows the proposed approach advantages in enabling comprehensive, autonomous and intelligent power system simulation studies.

Abstract
This work demonstrates a system that provides decision support to players in electricity market negotiations. This contribution is provided by ALBidS (Adaptive Learning strategic Bidding System), a decision support system that includes a large number of distinct market negotiation strategies, and learns which should be used in each context in order to provide the best expected response. The learning process on the best negotiation strategies to use at each moment is developed by means of several integrated reinforcement learning algorithms. ALBidS is integrated with MASCEM (Multi-Agent Simulator of Competitive Electricity Markets), which enables the simulation of realistic market scenarios using real data.

Abstract
This paper presents a new multi-agent decision support system with the purpose of aiding bilateral contract negotiators in the pre-negotiation phase, through the analysis of their possible opponents. The application area of this system is the electricity market, in which players trade a certain volume of energy at a specified price. Consequently, the main output of this system is the recommendation of the best opponent(s) to trade with and the target energy volume to trade with each of the opponents. These recommendations are achieved through the analysis of the possible opponents' past behavior, namely by learning on their past actions. The result is the forecasting of the expected prices against each opponent depending on the volume to trade. The expected prices are then used by a game-theory based model, to reach the final decision on the best opponents to negotiate with and the ideal target volume to be negotiated with each of them.

Abstract
Local electricity markets are emerging as a viable solution to overcome the challenges brought by the large penetration of distributed renewable generation and the need to put consumers as central players in the system, with an active and dynamic role. Although there is significant literature addressing the topic of local electricity markets, this is still a rather new and emerging topic. Hence, this study provides an overall view of this domain and a perspective on future needs and challenges that must be addressed. This review introduces the most important concepts in the local electricity market domain, provides an analysis on the different policy and regulatory framework, exposes the most relevant worldwide initiatives related to the field implementation, and scrutinizes the alternative local market models proposed in the literature. The discussion puts forth the main benefits and barriers of the currently proposed local market models, and the expected impact of their widespread implementation. The review is concluded with the wrap-up and discussion on the most relevant paths for future research and development in this field of study.