Jussi Tuunanen

Smart use of electricity - How to get consumers involved?

More active demand side participation is promoted as a solution to various problems in the electricity markets and networks. Perhaps the most discussed option of increasing consumer participation is demand response. However, getting consumers to join programs that involve variable prices and/or direct control of consumer appliances may prove challenging. Consumers have doubts about how much of their consumption they can shift and direct control of appliances also raises many concerns (e.g. how the control system adapts to changes in consumers own needs). Microgeneration can target many of the same problems as demand response and it may also give clearer signals to change consumption patterns.

Power-based distribution tariff structure: DSO's perspective

Numerous changes will take place in the electricity distribution system and business in the near future. Especially, electricity end-use may significantly alter the electricity distribution network loads. The main technologies that will have effects on electricity end-use may be microgeneration, heat pumps, electric vehicles, demand response, and energy storages. Moreover, rising reliability demands and network costs will increase pressure to raise the prices of distribution tariffs. These changes pose challenges for electricity distribution business. The present tariff structures are not optimal anymore from the distribution systems perspective. At the same time, new metering infrastructures may provide opportunities to develop more intelligent tariff schemes. From the DSOs point of view, a power-based distribution tariff structure would be the most advisable option, because it could have positive impacts on the network loads. This paper studies how the tariff scheme would affect the distribution network loads, if customers had motivation to decrease their peak powers.

DSO tariff structures: development options from stakeholders’ viewpoint

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to analyze the development needs and opportunities in the distribution system operators’ (DSO) tariff structures in the smart-grid environment. Design/methodology/approach – The impacts of the distribution pricing schemes for the stakeholders and their requirements for the tariff structures are evaluated by qualitative analyses. Furthermore, there is a case analysis concerning the practical development possibilities of the DSO tariff structures in Finland. Findings – Major finding of the paper is that the demand-based power band tariff is the optimal solution for the DSO pricing structure, when taking into account the real-life limitations and the requirements of the stakeholders. Practical implications – Outcomes of the paper can be applied in practice in design of the pricing schemes in the electricity distribution. Incentive provision impacts and cost reflectivity of the DSO tariffs can be improved by implementing the suggested pricing structure. Originality/value ...

Analyzing the effects of the customer-side BESS from the perspective of electricity distribution networks

This paper presents an analysis methodology to consider the effects of customer-side battery energy storage systems (BESS) on electricity distribution networks motivated by power-based tariffs. The paper describes the methodology by which the network effects can be defined. The methodology is verified by applying actual distribution network and load data. The analysis shows that transition from traditional energy-based distribution tariff to power-based tariff can lead to an accelerating increase in the application of customer-side energy storages. The results indicate that the network effects of the BESS are significant. The effect of energy storages depends partly on the voltage level of the network component. The results show that peak loads decrease in the case electricity distribution network. The most significant decrease, over 10% on average, is found in the low-voltage network, which is not a minor improvement.

Commercializing Emerging Renewable Energy: A Case Study:

A broad scientific consensus exists that the global climate is changing. The Earths surface temperature could rise significantly over the next few decades, leading to us witnessing an entirely new and unknown planet. Improved energy efficiency, decreasing use of fossil fuels and wide diffusion of various renewable energy sources are among the focal measures to limit global warming to a sustainable level. The objective of this study is to analyse how renewable energy, such as wind power and bioenergy, could be efficiently commercialized. The evaluation is based on a case study and expert analyses exploiting lateral and parallel thinking methods, and group decision support systems tools. The results reveal that some of the generated ideas are ready for implementation to commercialize renewable energy, whereas others still require technical and commercial development, and improvements before maturity.