Growing market competition is compelling steel enterprises to prioritize cost control. Byproduct gasByproduct gas scheduling, constituting approximately 40% of their total energyEnergy consumption, is a key area for potential savings. However, current extensive management practices necessitate refined scheduling to achieve cost reductions and efficiency gains. Typical optimization modelsOptimization model aim to balance gas holder-level stability against power generationPower generation revenue. Effective scheduling requires maintaining levels near preset references to preserve buffering capacity, while also allowing significant fluctuations to capitalize on time-of-use (TOU) electricity prices through multi-period scheduling. Conventional penalty functions, employing fixed reference levels and penalty factors, create an irreconcilable conflict between stabilizing levels and maximizing revenue. Based on the actual equipment conditions of the steel enterprise, this study develops time-variant control strategiesTime-variant control strategies and objective functions, enhancing the scheduling model’s responsiveness to TOU pricing and ultimately achieving greater energyEnergy cost savingsEnergy saving.