Bi-objective integer programming of hospitals under dynamic electricity price

Abstract

In response to rising costs of health services and competitive environment, health care organizations have to provide high quality services at lowest possible costs. On the other hand, energy prices are increasing due to the depletion of fossil fuel sources which cause an increment in health centers costs. Given these considerations, it is essential to find ways to use energy more efficiently. This paper presents a novel model for energy management in hospitals as a non-isolated micro grid that is connected to the main grid by the distribution transmission lines. Minimizing the energy costs (considering revenue, renewable energy subsidies and overtime costs) and minimizing the displeasure of surgeons and patients will be the target. We develop bi-objective integer linear programming model for this problem. It’s assumed that the hospital can buy its power shortage from the main grid and is also able to sell the extra energy produced to the electricity market. It is also considered that the cost of purchasing energy from the grid is determined based on the hourly market prices of electricity.