Empowering tomorrow, controlling today: A multi-criteria assessment of distribution grid tariff designs

Abstract

The energy transition is in full development with an ever-growing omnipresence of low voltage grid-connected distributed energy resources which cause congestion in the low voltage (LV) distribution grid. Two plausible solutions to network congestion issues are increased grid control (flexibility) or capacity power reinforcements. Electricity distribution tariffs are a promising intersection of these solutions as pricing structures that match consumer patterns can influence demand and grid investments can be recovered by cost-causal pricing.Designing electricity grid tariffs is complex due to its multi-disciplinary character. As previous research has addressed the singular aspects of distribution tariff structures, it is necessary to assess the performance of tariff designs from a multitude of perspectives. For the aforesaid reason, the goal of this paper is to investigate which distribution grid tariffs perform better by drawing upon a complete and coherent set of stakeholder-relevant criteria on all multi-disciplinary objectives of distribution tariff structures and assessing those structures with systematic decision theory. Results based on a systematic literature review, a TOPSIS multi-criteria decision assessment and statistical uncertainty analyses show that tariff performance significantly increases for capacity real-time pricing tariffs, capacity-based rates with Paris-Metro pricing and capacity peak load contribution charges.