Flexibility in the energy system brings advantages
According to a study by Fraunhofer IEG, capacity-based grid charges can reduce consumers' electricity costs and grid expansion. For the first time, the interaction of dynamic electricity tariffs and capacity-based grid charges was examined.
12.06.2024 – The study by researchers from Fraunhofer IEG shows how this interaction affects the electricity costs of private consumers, the choice of their electricity tariff and the necessary grid expansion. It was created in the cross-institutional Fraunhofer Cluster of Excellence CINES.
The results show that the introduction of a capacity-based grid fee increases the willingness of households to opt for a dynamic electricity tariff from 67 percent to 74 percent. At the same time, grid companies could reduce the costs of grid expansion in rural areas by 37 percent if it were possible to use capacity-based grid fees instead of the usual volume-based tariff structure.
Dynamic electricity tariffs
According to the study, 38.9 percent of the electricity price in Germany in 2022 consisted of electricity procurement and sales and 21.8 percent of grid charges. The average share of grid fees in electricity costs across Europe in 2021 was as much as 28.3 percent. This illustrates the importance of procurement costs and network charges for the retail price. Consumers who use flexible technologies such as electric cars, heat pumps or PV battery storage systems could use this flexibility to reduce their electricity costs. Energy management systems and smart meters support consumers in this. Dynamic electricity prices are a first step in this direction. For example, consumers could obtain their energy when electricity prices on the market are particularly low, i.e. usually in times of low consumption and/or high electricity production from renewable energies.
High savings potential in the electricity price
Capacity-based grid charges could further reduce electricity costs for consumers with flexible technologies in the future, the research team explains. In contrast to current tariff structures, which only take into account the amount of energy used, capacity-based grid charges would be based on the maximum power consumed or fed into the grid by the household. According to the study, for example, high charging capacities for e-cars would cost more than low ones. The average savings potential through dynamic electricity prices across all households examined is up to 30.4 percent under the current volume-based grid charges, provided that the household uses an energy management system. If dynamic electricity tariffs are also combined with capacity-based grid charges, these households can realize even higher savings – up to 62.3 percent, according to the report.
Capacity-based grid charges reduce peak load
Grid operators have a great interest in reducing peak loads and thus making the expansion of the power grids as low as possible. But, says Judith Stute, lead author of the study, "dynamic electricity tariffs do not necessarily have a stabilizing effect on the power grid. Network operators can achieve this better through capacity-based grid charges." On average, the associated grid costs are reduced by 14 percent to 88 percent, depending on the low-voltage grid.
Energy management systems support savings
In an earlier study, Judith Stute already made it clear that in the wake of rising electricity prices, households with flexible technologies such as heat pumps, e-cars or PV battery storage could benefit from dynamic electricity tariffs. The prerequisite for this is that they use energy management systems at home to automatically shift their electricity consumption to favorable times. Specifically, she found that during the 2021/2022 energy crisis – in which the average electricity price increased by 15.2 ct/kWh (+67 percent of the annual average in 2019) and the average price range by 8.9 ct/kWh (+494 percent) – the share of households that could achieve cost savings through dynamic electricity prices increased from 3.9 percent to 62.5 percent.
Nevertheless, the expert warns: "Optimising self-consumption can offer households with heat pumps a greater advantage than the dynamic electricity tariff. At the same time, however, the flexibility of these households will be crucial to reduce grid bottlenecks in winter due to the expected simultaneous heat demand and to facilitate the integration of wind energy." With her new study, the researcher makes it clear that capacity-based grid charges – in addition to dynamic electricity prices – could contribute to the reduction of peak loads. well
source : Capacity-based grid charges: Flexibility in the energy system brings advantages - energiezukunft