Academic literature on the topic 'Electricity network and pricing'

The thesis investigates the application of ice thermal storage technology to situations where the price of electricity varies continuously with instantaneous network demand. A central hypothesis is postulated in chapter 1, which states: "A variable electricity pricing structure, in which unit price continuously varies in response to instantaneous network demand, enhances the opportunities and benefits of ice thermal storage. The benefits both financial and environmental are dependent on the establishment of control and design strategies which optimise performance by matching refrigeration load with the instantaneous electricity price. " For ease of reference, the form of pricing described above is referred to in the thesis as 'real time' electricity pricing. The 'pool price' which is used to facilitate the competitive electricity awkct in England and Wales, is one of the foremost examples of real time pricing. The thesis therefore uses the electricity supply industry in the UK as its research vehicle. Notwithstanding this, the work contained in the thesis can be applied to any country which applies real time electricity pricing mechanisms. The validity of the hypothesis is assessed in the thesis through the development of a variety of numerical and computer models. These models fall into two distinct categories; those concerned with predicting and optimising the financial benefits of ice thermal storage, and those concerned with predicting and optimising the environmental benefits of ice thermal storage. Chapters 2,3 and 4 should be treated as support chapters, which equip the reader with the prerequisite knowledge necessary to understand the research work contained in the later chapters. As such, these chapters contain, respectively, a description of the electricity supply industry in the UK, a discussion of demand side management in the UK, and a description of the technology involved in ice thermal storage. The parametric study contained in chapter 4 is however an original piece of research work by the author. The models developed to evaluate and optimise the economic benefits of ice thermal storage are presented in chapters 5 and 6, and are applied to contrasting theoretical case study applications, namely an office building and a dairy. In chapter 5a 'long hand' numerical analysis technique is used. In chapter 6 this technique is rationalised and developed into a computer model for optimising both the design and control of ice storage installations in real time electricity pricing applications. The environmental studies are presented in chapter 7. These concentrate on the ability of ice thermal storage to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Although the overall objective of the chapter is to evaluate the carbon dioxide emissions associated with ice thermal storage, the bulk of the chapter is concerned with the development of a model for predicting the carbon dioxide emissions per kWh of delivered electrical energy in England and Wales on a time related basis. The development of this 'time of day' carbon dioxide model is one of the main objectives of the thesis. Having established this model, it is then used to analyse the carbon dioxide emissions associated with the dairy case study.

The operation of the electricity system is subject to: charges comprised of energy, capacity, use of system, peak demand and balancing components; payments for services that influence the timing and magnitude of demand; and regulatory and physical network constraints. This work explores the interactions of these characteristics in the GB system. The revenue flows associated with energy demand, balancing and use of system charges are mapped for generators, transmission and distribution network operators (TNO and DNOs), system operator (SO), electricity retailers and electricity users. Triads are part of the transmission network use of service charges and are a form of peak demand pricing. The cost-benefit of Triad avoidance using emergency standby generation is evaluated. Demand Side Response (DSR) provision by commercial electricity users on the network is modelled and simulated. The research determines the impacts of DSR timing, location and penetration level, demand recovery and incidence of Triad periods. A suite of software models was developed including: network demand agents which can be populated with demand profiles and include a model of energy recovery; an interface to Matpower [1] to allow for time-domain based power flow calculations and a model of Short Term Operating Reserve (STOR) which synthesizes calls at representative dates and times. The network demand agents are linked to bus-bars on a network model. The software suite is used to investigate the impacts of STOR provision by demand reduction with and without energy recovery on Triad demand using a Monte Carlo simulation. The total cost benefit of participation in STOR is evaluated. It is also used to conduct timeaware power-flow analysis on a distribution network model with STOR provision by demand reduction. The impact on network capacity headroom is quantified. The cost effectiveness of using standby generation for Triad avoidance was found to depend on the cost of the grid compliant connection. For a payback time of 4 years or less, with the size of generator considered, the grid compliant connection would have to cost less than £5,600. The probability of decreased Triad demand due STOR provision by demand reduction with energy recovery is up to 4 % for the parameters considered. This compares to a probability of up to 1.6 % that the Triad demand would be increased. The most likely outcome is that Triad demand remains unaffected. The total cost benefit of STOR Abstract 2 provision by demand reduction for the 1st percentile may be negative compared to not participating. The impact of DSR provision by demand reduction with energy recovery on the distribution network capacity overhead varies significantly with time of day and with the distribution of DSR over the network. For evenly distributed DSR, demand recovery peaks greater than 40 kW cause a reduction in capacity overhead. However, for a case where the DSR is not evenly distributed the capacity overhead does not decrease for recovery peaks less than 800 kW.

Electricity network pricing methodologies play a key role in determining whether providing network services is economically beneficial to both the utilities and other m arket participants. There are many pricing methodologies that have been developed since the late 80's, especially for transmission networks. Compared to transmission pricing methods, distribution pricing methods are unsophisticated and pose a significant barrier to embedded generators. Hence, more efficient and executable methodologies are still desirable in open access electricity networks. This thesis presents a series of new long-run marginal cost (LRMC) pricing methodologies for both transmission and distribution networks, and demonstrates the processes o f evaluating and allocating the network asset costs. New reactive power pricing methods, based on the perpendicular approach and arc approach, have been proposed and demonstrated in these LRMC pricing process. Compared with other proposed LRMC pricing schemes, the novel long-run marginal cost with utilisation consideration (LRM C-Util%) pricing methodology aims to evaluate the network asset costs based on the usage o f the network facilities. It can reflect the future network investment and indicate the future location o f network users. The advantages o f LRMC-Util% include the ability to reflect the forward looking costs, to distinguish between the costs o f siting at different locations, to recognize o f the reactive power, and to derive charges for both generation and demand users.

Cette thèse s'intéresse à différents aspects relatifs à l'économie des énergies renouvelables (EnR) électriques. Celles-ci ont été choisies par de nombreux pays, désireux de réduire leur empreinte carbone, dans le cadre de la lutte contre le changement climatique.N'étant la plupart du temps pas compétitives face aux moyens de production conventionnels, les EnR nécessitent des subventions publiques, à la fois nationales et locales, pour être rentables. J'analyse l'efficacité de ces aides dans le cas du photovoltaïque chez les particuliers français, en tenant compte des phénomènes de communication, qui participent fortement à la diffusion. Je montre combien ces derniers peuvent être un levier supplémentaire dans le développement des EnR.Ensuite, j'étudie l'impact des schémas régionaux de raccordement au réseau des EnR, dans le cas de l'éolien terrestre en France. Ces schémas introduisent une différenciation spatiale des frais de raccordement. Cela permet de réorienter les investissements vers les régions dans lesquelles le réseau est moins contraint, ce que je quantifie.Les réseaux jouent également un rôle dans le développement des EnR via leur tarification. Celle-ci est essentielle dans le cas de l'autoconsommation, qui fait peser des risques sur l'équilibre budgétaire du gestionnaire de réseau. Ainsi, je détermine notamment les prix à l'optimum économique de second rang dans le cas d'un tarif binôme énergie-puissance.Enfin, j'analyse l'impact de la production renouvelable sur les prix de gros de l'électricité en Allemagne. Je montre que les EnR induisent une baisse des prix différenciée en fonction de l'équilibre offre-demande. Ceci pénalise les centrales de pointe nécessaires à la sécurité d'approvisionnement, ainsi que les EnR de demain, qui devront se passer de subventions<br>This thesis deals with several aspects of the economics of electric renewable energy sources (RES). These have been chosen by many countries, willing to reduce their carbon footprint, in order to fight climate change.As RES are usually not competitive against conventional power plants, they rely on national and local subsidies in order to be profitable. I analyse the efficiency of such support schemes in the case of solar photovoltaics for residential households in France. Communication phenomena also take a huge part in the diffusion process. My work shows in how far these are an additional driver of RES development.Then, I study the impact of regional network connection schemes for renewables in France, in the field of onshore wind energy. These schemes introduce a spatial differentiation of network connection charges. They enable to reallocate investments in regions in which the electricity network is less constrained, and I quantify this reallocation.Electricity networks also play a role in the development of RES through their tarification. The latter is fundamental in the case of self-consumption (or "prosumption"), that puts the budget balance of the network operator at risk. Thus, I derive second-best prices in the case of a two-part energy-capacity tariff.Finally, I analyse the impact of renewable generation on electricity wholesale prices in Germany. I show that RES induce a decrease in prices, which depends on the supply-demand equilibrium. This penalises peaking power plants that are necessary to the security of supply, as well as future renewables, which shall progressively become profitable without subsidies

This work aims to assess the development of competition in the electricity industry of England and Wales, emphasising one of the key elements of the restructured industry, the pool - a centralised day ahead electricity spot market. The pool's structure is examined, along with the relationship that the pool has with the market for electricity forward contracts. However, the key to this work is the relationship between the major electricity generators and the industry's regulator. This is introduced through two theoretical models, and undertaken through a series of econometric models using pool prices, forward prices, electricity demand, and the sharep rices of the major generators: National Power and Powergen. The work tests the hypotheses put forward by Green( 1992) and Helm & Powell (1992) of an inverse relationship between the volume of output that a generator sells forward through contracts and the general level of pool prices. The break-up of the first and second sets of forward contracts - which expired in 1991 and 1993 - and their impact on pool prices are assessed By using the market model, this work examines the impact of a series of both regulatory and nonregulatory events on the share returns of National Power and Powergen. Given the existence of spot and forward markets for electricity, one would expect a relationship between the prices in these markets The relationship is examined for England and Wales by a synthetic data set that approximates the prices at which the contracts were sold. The relationship is then examined using actual and forecast electricity prices for California, this latter analysis forming part of an overview of electricity deregulation in America. Ultimately, this research hopes to add to the growing amount of material on energy privatisation - a topic that continues to promote interest and controversy in academic and industrial circles.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2000.<br>ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The South African Electricity Distribution Industry is riddled with tariffs. Every utility in South Africa probably uses some method for allocating cost, whether it is theoretically founded or not. There are currently over 2000 different tariffs in South Africa and the need for rationalisation has been widely recognised and acknowledged. Many of these tariffs have not been the outflow of accepted methodologies but rather a function of individual utility policy and practices. There is however a dire need to standardise such methodologies in the future. A standardised methodology might be the only way to eventually rationalise the thousands of tariffs that exist in the electricity industry. Government has emphasised the importance of tariffs to be cost reflective in the future. The only possible way to reach this objective would be to determine clear and concise methods of allocating cost that can be utilised by the entire industry. This study project describes a standardised methodology for determining the cost to supply different customer categories in an electricity distributor. The methodology offers enough flexibility not to bind any party into laboursome, complex and time consuming costing activities. It does however require that the costs of a distributor are carefully investigated and all functions performed in the utility are isolated. This is referred to as ringfencing of costs.<br>AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die Suid-Afrikaanse Elektrisiteitverspreidingsbedryf het veelvuldige tariewe. Elke utiliteit in Suid-Afrika gebruik waarskynlik 'n metode vir kostetoedeling, wat nie noodwendig teoreties gebaseer is nie. Huidiglik is daar meer as 2000 verskillende tariewe in Suid-Afrika en dit word alom besef en erken dat gronde vir rasionalisering bestaan. Baie van die tariewe het nie ontstaan uit die gebruik van aanvaarbare berekeningsmetodes nie, maar was eerder die gevolg van individuele beleid en praktyke van utiliteite. Daar is 'n dringende behoefte om hierdie berekeningsmetodes in die toekoms te standardiseer. 'n Standaard metode mag die enigste manier wees om uiteindelik die duisende tariewe wat in die elektrisiteitsbedryf bestaan te rasionaliseer. Die regering het die belangrikheid dat tariewe in die toekoms koste reflekterend moet wees benadruk. Die enigste moontlike manier om hierdie doelwit te bereik, is om helder en duidelike metodes vir koste toedeling te bepaal vir gebruik deur die hele bedryf. Hierdie verhandeling beskryf 'n standaard metodologie om die koste te bepaal om verskillende klantegroepe in 'n elektrisiteitsverspreider van krag te voorsien. Die metodologie bied voldoende plooibaarheid om geen party aan arbeidintensiewe, kompleks en tydrowende kostebepalings te verbind nie. Dit vereis egter dat die koste van 'n verspreider noukeurig ondersoek word en dat alle funksies wat verrig word uitgelig word. Hierna word verwys as afbakening van kostes.

The Swing options are the natural outcomes of the increasing uncertainty in the power markets, which came along with the deregulation process triggered by the UK government&rsquo<br>s action in 1990 to privatize the national electricity supply industry. Since then, the ways of handling the risks in the price generation process have been explored extensively. Producer-consumers of the power market felt confident as they were naturally hedged against the price fluctuations surrounding the large consumers. Companies with high power consumption liabilities on their books demanded tailored financial products that would shelter them from the upside risks while not preventing them from benefiting the low prices. Furthermore, more effective risk management practices are strongly dependent upon the successful parameterization of the underlying stochastic processes, which is also key to the effective pricing of derivatives traded in the market. In this thesis, we refer to the electricity spot price model developed jointly by Hambly, Howison and Kluge ([13]), which incorporates jumps and still maintains the analytical tractability. We also derive the forward curve dynamics implied by the spot price model and explore the effects on the forward curve dynamics of the spikes in spot price. As the main discussion of this thesis, the Grid Approach, which is a generalization of the Trinomial Forest Method, is applied to the electricity Swing options. We investigate the effects of spikes on the per right values of the Swing options with various number of exercise rights, as well as the sensitivities of the model-implied prices to several parameters.