Comparative Analysis of Load Forecasting Models for Varying Time Horizons and Load Aggregation Levels

Power system operators are confronted with a multitude of new forecasting tasks to ensure a constant supply security despite the decreasing number of fully controllable energy producers. With this paper, we aim to facilitate the selection of suitable forecasting approaches for the load forecasting problem. First, we provide a classification of load forecasting cases in two dimensions: temporal and hierarchical. Then, we identify typical features and models for forecasting and compare their applicability in a structured manner depending on six previously defined cases. These models are compared against real data in terms of their computational effort and accuracy during development and testing. From this comparative analysis, we derive a generic guide for the selection of the best prediction models and features per case.