(Mohammad) M Ansarin MSc

Active Projects

My current research is about tariff designs in the renewable energy era. Renewables continue to expand in many regions of the world, much of it at a local (distribution grid) level. Here, households or communities install local generation resources to meet some of their electricity needs. Yet many energy retailers stick to conventional tariff designs based on assumptions that are sometimes no longer accurate. We study the implications of using these tariffs and alternative designs on fairness within a subscribing population. This would clarify the consequences of increasing renewables on multiple stakeholders in the electricity retail space.

I have also conducted agent-based modeling research based on the Power Trading Agent Competition. Power TAC is an agent-based competitive simulation of the electricity grid (more info at powertac.org). The goal is to understand the effects of policy and market designs on outcomes for various stakeholders. We analyzed some of the simulation's design choices for the wholesale electricity market and the balancing market and formulated some recommendations for design that is both computationally tractable and realistically acceptable.

I also co-teach the Designing Business Applications course, part of the Business Information Management MSc program (together with Dr. Yashar Ghiassi-Farrokhfal). I have previously taught the Next Generation Business Applications course from the same program. I regularly coach and co-read MSc theses. I have been a member of the RSM Faculty council since September 2017.