PROSUMERS: АN OVERVIEW OF INNOVATIVE MODELS OF INTERACTION BETWEEN SUBJECTS OF THE ELECTRIC POWER INDUSTRY AND END CONSUMERS

Abstract

Technological changes taking place in Russia and in the world have an impact on many sectors of the economy, including the electric power industry. There has been a tendency for consumers to withdraw from centralized power supply due to a wide range of factors: the spread and cheapening of generation technologies using renewable energy sources, energy storage systems, as well as the development of smart metering systems. The proliferation of digital technologies of Industry 4.0 allows innovative energy technologies to be integrated together.The purpose of this work was to identify and verify the effects generated by the technologies of the fourth industrial revolution in the electric power industry, and the resulting new models of interaction between consumers and energy companies in the electricity market.At the beginning of the study, the effects of the spread of distributed generation (including the use of renewable energy sources), energy storage systems, smart electricity metering systems, as well as digital technologies of industry 4.0 were identified, and the impact of these technologies on changing the nature of consumer interaction and energy companies.Further, the analysis of the main approaches to organizing the interaction of energy companies with a new type of electricity consumers - an active consumer, is carried out, and the key effects from the spread of active consumer models are determined.At the end of the work, industry experts were interviewed with subsequent questionnaires, which made it possible to assess the prospects for deploying active consumer models.