Game-theoretic Applications for Decision-making Behavior on the Energy Demand Side:a Systematic Review

As an essential characteristic of the smart grid,energy demand users are being transformed from passive roles to active decision-makers.To analyze their decision-making behaviors,game theory has been widely applied on the demand side.This paper focuses on the classification and in-depth analysis of recent studies that propose game-theoretic approaches for decision optimi-zation of multiple demand users.This analysis classifies scenarios into various game participant categories,in-cluding distributed energy prosumers,small-and mid-dle-sized users,and large energy consumers.The in-depth analysis of each scenario,covering non-cooperative game,cooperative game,Stackelberg game,Bayesian game,and evolutionary game,is conducted by analyzing market operation mechanisms,model assumptions/formulations,and solution methods.Based on a comprehensive review of such studies,it is concluded that game-theoretic appli-cations on the demand side can benefit both the grid and the users,e.g.,reductions in the peak-to-average ratios and energy costs of the users.The prospects for the ap-plications of game theory on the demand side are dis-cussed,including application scenarios and methodologies.The overview presented in this paper is expected to sup-port researchers in comprehending typical game-theoretic concepts,keeping with the latest research developments,and identifying new and innovative appli-cations for the energy demand side.Index Terms—Energy demand side,game theory,Game-theoretic application,demand response,deci-sion-making behavior.