Electric Service Research Articles

Regulation of photovoltaic prosumer plants: An analysis through a dynamic expression of the avoided cost

Driven by technical advances and favorable regulatory measures (albeit only in some countries), the deployment of electricity generation at very small scales, or micro-generation, is shaping a new segment of the electricity system which has been called “Residential Energy Sector” or “Micro-Generation Sector”. Known as “self-production” or “self-consumption” years ago, the main objective of on-site, or demand-side, microgeneration is to provide electricity services to homes and businesses from their own plants. While the concept of avoided cost has been used in the past, a dynamic model which takes into account the different influencing factors has not been previously developed. This paper closes this gap in the literature. It proposes a dynamic, easily replicable model which contains the main factors which influence the avoided costs and facilitates the analysis of the investment decisions taken by residential prosumers. The results show that, compared to other variables, the evolution of retail prices is the most relevant factor affecting the avoided cost, suggesting that their gradual increase could lead to the substitution of plants before the end of their useful life. However, the importance of retail prices and their unknown evolution gives investment decisions on residential plants an inherent uncertain character. Therefore, a higher retail price can encourage the investment by reducing the recovery period. If the accumulated avoided cost equals the initial investment earlier, this reduces both the uncertainty (the period is shorter) and the psychological impact of a strong initial expense. Although regulatory factors (e.g., the existence of subsidies and the conditions of grid exchange) do not have a large economic impact, those factors contribute to the change in the psychological framework which future prosumers will face. In particular, they partly offset the detrimental impact of the initial upfront costs on the decision to invest, even if the revenues and other advantages offset such initial amount of investment.

Certifying battery usage for V2G and second life with a blockchain-based framework

This paper describes a blockchain-based approach for sharing data among all the actors involved in Vehicle-to-Grid programs. The shared information is used both for monitoring the health status of the vehicle’s battery and for remuneration in Vehicle-to-Grid programs. A blockchain platform and a set of appropriate smart contracts have been developed for supporting the interactions among the different actors and for creating battery usage profiles. To protect sensitive data, we limit the visibility scope of such data only to subsets of actors using blockchain channels. This approach preserves the privacy of the car owner on one hand and guarantees the compliance to correct charging and discharging modes, on the other hand, by using dedicated smart contracts to manage data for each of the channels. The approach here described proposes and develops a blockchain-based ecosystem for efficiently managing electric vehicles especially when these are called to provide electrical grid services, such as it happens for Vehicle-to-Grid programs. In this case, it is indeed possible that the battery undergoes an accelerated aging and thus certified recording of charging data for legal liability is one of the issues here dealt with. When possible, data are collected from multiple sources (e.g. the charging station and the Electric Vehicle) and from different parties with conflicting interests for validating data and breaking data silos that are within the car, the charging stations and the Battery Management System.

Privacy-Preserving Data Aggregation with Dynamic Billing in Fog-Based Smart Grid

As the next-generation grid, the smart grid (SG) can significantly enhance the reliability, flexibility as well as efficiency of electricity services. To address latency and bandwidth issues during data analysis, there have been attempts to introduce fog computing (FC) in SG. However, fog computing-based smart grid (FCSG) face serious challenges in security and privacy. In this paper, we propose a privacy-preserving data aggregation scheme that supports dynamic billing and arbitration, named PPDB. Specifically, we design a four-layer data aggregation framework which uses fog nodes (FNs) to collect and aggregate electricity consumption data encrypted under the ElGamal cryptosystem and employ distributed decryption to achieve fine-grained access and bills generation based on real-time prices. In addition, we introduce a trusted third party to arbitrate disputed bills. Detailed security analysis proves that the proposed PPDB can guarantee the confidentiality, authentication and integrity of data. Compared with related schemes, the experimental results show that the communication overhead of our scheme is reduced by at least 38%, and the computational efficiency in the billing phase is improved by at least 40 times.

Residential responses to service-specific electricity demand: Case of China

Understanding the diversity of the residential demand for various electrical services is critical for utilities and policymakers in conducting effective demand side management and narrowing urban-rural inequality. Previous research has usually treated the household as a unit of analysis, and thus may have ignored the fact that household electricity consumption is derived demand driven by specific services, which fails to examine the heterogeneous behavioral responses. Therefore, this paper presents a new pattern of residential demand for various electrical services and quantifies the impacts of socioeconomic determinants in China. The conditional demand analysis is performed on the unique dataset of the Chinese Residential Energy Consumption Survey of 2014 to estimate the electricity demand distribution in eight types of services and to investigate the effect of socioeconomic variables on service-specific electricity consumption. The results show that, together, entertainment and food refrigeration account for about half of the total annual electricity consumption, followed by laundry, lighting, space cooling, and hot water. Rural households use about 7.2% of total electricity for cooking purposes, while urban counterparts hardly use electricity to cook at all. Electricity consumption for space heating is negligible for both urban and rural households. Heterogeneity in socioeconomic determinants is found not only among different electrical services but also between urban and rural households.

A simulation-aided approach in examining the viability of passive daylighting techniques on inclined windows

As the construction industry moves towards sustainability, buildings are frequently constructed using eco-friendly building materials and techniques. It is important to evaluate various passive daylighting techniques in order to obtain natural light into the building in the most eco-friendly manner feasible. As part of our investigation, the office in study has inclined windows, limiting the amount of solar radiation entering and shielding the building occupants from direct sunlight. Thus, it is critical to identify an appropriate passive daylight design that reduces renovation work without disrupting mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) services. By using photorealistic simulation and Radiance daylight simulation to compare various types of light shelves across different levels, it offers a practical solution with low installation costs to address inadequate daylighting with inclined windows. This will assess the effectiveness of daylight penetrations and enhance visual comfort in a high-rise structure with inclined windows. Our research findings demonstrate that, even when installed on inclined windows with daylight infiltrations, the combination of tilted light shelves performs better in reflecting daylight into the internal space, with an estimated 34% better performance and a more than 25% reduction in energy usage. Aside from daylight simulation, the chiller load simulation results show that the combination of tilted light shelves has no effect on the chiller loads, indicating that no heating is involved. Our work here has the potential to enhance sustainability without requiring extensive retrofitting or changes to the original interior design, resulting in lower installation and renovation costs while improving occupant health and welfare at the same time.

Стратегічний аналіз та перспективи розвитку ринку електромонтажних послуг Кіровоградщини

The article is devoted to conducting a strategic analysis of the external environment of the functioning of electrical installation enterprises (EIE), as well as to the development, on this basis, of practical recommendations for the formation of strategies for their development. The reliability of power supply systems and the safety of people's lives depend on the quality of work performed by these enterprises. Taking into account the fact that competition in the field of electrical installation services is mainly regional and local in nature, the relevant market of the Kirovohrad region and the city of Kropyvnytskyi was studied. On the basis of a detailed analysis of the sources of each of the selected key industry factors of the external environment (existing and potential competitors, suppliers, consumers), the following were determined: the leading enterprises of the local electrical installation services market and the key factors of their success; the main barriers to entering the industry of potential competitors; factors of quality performance of services and gaining the trust of consumers; directions of related diversification of the electrical installation enterprise; peculiarities of working with suppliers and requirements for the quality of their products. A list of the main competitive advantages of the market leaders of electrical installation services has been established, which include: work experience in this field; positive image among partners and consumers; expanding the share of the market served by the enterprise; execution of a full range of design, testing and electrical installation works and obtaining the appropriate package of permit documentation for this; availability of a modern and effective material and technical base (including certified electrical laboratories), highly qualified management and personnel; use of only high-quality materials in the works; the ability to offer quality services at the best price. The SWOT analysis method, applied on the example of one of the leading enterprises, made it possible to develop a balance of factors of the external and internal environments of EIE, measures to improve the competitive position of this enterprise on the market, to put forward well-founded recommendations for the implementation of a strategy of concentrated growth and a competitive strategy of optimal costs. The presented strategic analysis of the market of electrical installation services and the planned prospects for the further development of one of its leaders can be applied by the participants of this market - electrical installation enterprises to assess their own competitive position, intensify their strategic activities and choose adequate methods of competitive struggle, which, ultimately, will contribute to the development of data enterprises and the industry as a whole.

A Risk-Based Framework for Power System Modeling to Improve Resilience to Extreme Events

The extent of the damage to Puerto Rico from Hurricane Maria in September 2017 led to outages in electricity service that persisted for months. Power system operators attempting to restore critical facilities faced challenges on almost every front, from supply chain interruptions to the inaccessibility of key assets. After a disaster of this magnitude, it is critical, but challenging, to prioritize how limited resources are directed toward rebuilding and fortifying the electric power system. To inform these decisions, the U.S. Department of Energy funded efforts investigating methodologies to identify critical vulnerabilities to the Puerto Rican power system, and to provide data-driven recommendations on how to harden and operate the system for greater resilience. This work presents the Risk-based Contingency Analysis Tool (RCAT), a framework developed as a part of that resilience initiative. The framework can qualitatively and quantitatively describe the most critical system vulnerabilities with an understanding of both likelihood of occurrence and impact. It evaluates the effectiveness of candidate remediation strategies in reducing overall risk to the system from future hurricane events. This paper will describe RCAT, with an emphasis on how different modeling capabilities have been integrated along with probabilistic methods and analytical metrics to better describe risk.

Design and cost benefit analysis of an e-mobility service: an electric bus service in Naples, Italy

Design and cost benefit analysis of an e-mobility service: an electric bus service in Naples, Italy

УПРАВЛЕНИЕ МОБИЛЬНОСТЬЮ ПРИ РАЗВИТИИ В ГОРОДАХ CЕРВИСОВ КРАТКОСРОЧНОЙ АРЕНДЫ ЭЛЕКТРОСАМОКАТОВ

Article discusses the development of electric scooter short-term rental services and their impact on the structure of the mobility of the urban population based on macrosimulation results. The purpose of the study is to assess changes in the mobility structure of the population of a large city, in witch the transport that provides regular passenger transportation on paths isolated from motor roads is absent, with the development of bicycle lanes and changes in tariffs for short-term rental of electric scooters. The study found that when the cost of renting an electric scooter would decrease and the length of bicycle lanes would increase, the number of electric scooter users would increase and the number and proportion of journeys made by individual and public transport would decrease. The cost of renting electric scooters also affects the average travelling distance and therefore the business model of the service. Changing the cost of renting electric scooters is one way to manage the mobility of city dwellers. This could change the loading of the urban street and road network and public transport.

An Optimization Model for Electric Motorcycle Battery Swapping Station in Indonesia: A Case Study

Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) has become a new technological innovation that effectively accelerates electrification due to their short charging and swapping processes. On the other hand, developing charging infrastructure, such as charging stations, still needs to be improved in Indonesia. The absence of government policies regulating charging station design has led each electric motorcycle company to innovate with their own standards. This research aims to implement a proposed Battery Swap Station (BSS) model to minimize swapping costs by optimizing the charging schedule for each exchanged battery based on a case study of one electric motorcycle service provider in Solo. Three factors are considered in searching for the objective function: the number of batteries taken from the stock during daily operations, battery degradation resulting from high charging scheme usage, and the electricity cost used at the station. Genetic Algorithms are proposed to determine the optimal charging scheduling, resulting in the minimum objective function. A series of battery swapping demand case studies are simulated to assess the feasibility of the proposed model, which can serve as a policy reference for the government and companies.

Conceptual design of a user-centric smart product-service system using self-organizing map

As an emerging IT-driven business paradigm, smart product-service system (Smart PSS), which offers not only the smart, connected product (SCP) but also its generated service as a solution bundle, has become a vital research topic. Many research efforts have been devoted to constructing the conceptual design framework by considering SCPs and services simultaneously. However, the following critical issues in Smart PSS conceptual design have not been well addressed: how to improve the solution of Smart PSS in the conceptual design stage to meet user emotional requirements. Aiming to fill the gap, this work proposes a conceptual design method for Smart PSS from the perspective of analyzing user-generated emotions/feelings. Specifically, the relevant traditional products are identified, and their public review data is used to analyze user emotions/feelings in user-product interaction. Interactive emotion board as a new design tool is presented to organize the user-generated emotions/feelings, associated design elements, and the potential design points of the initial solution. And the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is utilized to evaluate the improved solution. To ensure the efficiency of the analysis process, the self-organizing map (SOM) algorithm is utilized in the process of clustering product samples and Kansei words. A case study of smart electric bicycle service system (SEBSS) design is used to demonstrate the performance of the proposed method. Based on the case study, the proposed approach appears effective in helping with Smart PSS conceptual design.

Design and cost benefit analysis of an e-mobility service: an electric bus service in Naples, Italy

Design and cost benefit analysis of an e-mobility service: an electric bus service in Naples, Italy

The pricing method for abandoned wind power contract between wind power enterprises and desalination plants in bilateral transactions

In Northeast China’s electric power auxiliary service market, guiding interruptible load users to participate in bilateral transactions is an effective measure to ease the difficulty of grid peak regulation and improve the utilization rate of wind power. Aiming at the lack of theoretical guidance in the current bilateral transactions, this paper proposes a two-stage pricing (TSP) method. Firstly, the freshwater supply and demand balance model of the desalination plant is constructed. The upper-level optimization model of bilateral transaction for profit maximization of the desalination plant is constructed. Then, considering the profit distribution among transaction parties and constraints on wind power utilization, a low-level calculation model of wind power pricing is constructed. Finally, the TSP method is applied to the numerical analysis of bilateral transaction between a desalination plant and a wind power company. The TSP method jointly optimizes the dispatching scheme between the variable speed pump and the water storage tank of the desalination plant. Under the constraints of reasonable profit distribution and wind power utilization, the transaction price finally converges to a range acceptable to both parties. The TSP method can effectively improve the utilization rate of wind power and optimize the flexibility of energy utilization. • A detailed mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) model is developed for desalination plants. • A model for seawater desalination plants to participate in bilateral trading markets is proposed. • A TSP method for calculating the price of bilateral transactions is proposed. • The TSP method can effectively optimize the flexibility of energy utilization.

Pemanfaatan Simulasi Monte Carlo Untuk Perhitungan Kinerja Gangguan Tenaga Listrik Pada PT PLN (Persero) UIW Suluttenggo

Objective: This study aims to determine the optimum number of electrical disturbances at PLN UIW Suluttenggo both in terms of frequency and duration of disruption to determine the level of quality of electric power reliability service on the customer side. Quality reliability or "reliability" is related to the ability of a system to deliver electricity to all points of its user in the appropriate standards and quantities. There are two things related to the reliability of electric power (1) Adequacy (adequacy) and (2) System security (security).
 Method: Monte Carlo simulation is a simulation model that includes a series of random sampling with a probability distribution that can be known and determined, so this simulation can be used. In this study, data was taken from the number of electrical disturbances that occurred at PLN UIW Suluttenggo in 7 service unit branches using SAIDI and SAIFI data in 2021 and 2022.
 Findings: The finding of this study is that the use of Monte Carlo simulations can be used to analyze ganggaun data where the calculation results compared to the calculation of the excell formula produce almost the same results.
 Results: The results of the interference performance calculation showed the best performance were UP3 Manado (1.65), UP3 Kotamobagu (1.55) and UP3 Gorontalo (1.05). As for each interruption performance for the shortest duration of outage is UP3 Kotamobagu (0.75) and the smallest interference frequency is UP3 Manado (1.0).

Investment strategy for renewable energy and electricity service quality under different power structures

<p style='text-indent:20px;'>This paper investigates and develops an electricity supply chain with an electricity generator and electricity retailer. The electricity generator invests in renewable energy and sells the electricity to the electricity retailer; the retailer then sells the electricity to consumers according to electricity service quality. Three models are considered: the vertical Nash game, the electricity-generator Stackelberg model, and the electricity-retailer Stackelberg model. Finally, the optimal solutions under different power-structure models are compared. Certain conclusions can be drawn from the findings: (1) the highest electricity service quality and renewable energy investment are obtained in the vertical Nash game model, the electricity generator obtains more profits in the electricity-generator Stackelberg model, and the electricity retailer obtains more profits in the electricity-retailer Stackelberg model. (2) The investment in renewable energy in the electricity-generator Stackelberg model is less than that in the electricity-retailer Stackelberg model, and the investment in electricity service quality in the electricity-retailer Stackelberg model is less than that in the electricity-generator Stackelberg model (under certain conditions). (3) Both increasing the electricity service quality sensitivity and renewable energy sensitivity could increase the optimal electricity price, electricity demand, electricity service quality, renewable energy investment, and supply-chain enterprises' profit.</p>

IoT-based industrial energy management system

The ESCOM (Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi) currently faces difficulties in monitoring and controlling critical parameters, such as electricity generation, transmission, and distribution in real-time. Inefficient energy management, lack of fault detection mechanisms, manual interventions, and limited data-driven decision-making capabilities are hindering ESCOM's ability to deliver reliable and efficient electricity services to the people of Malawi. The main objective of this work is to address the pressing challenges faced by ESCOM (Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi) in effectively managing and optimizing electricity distribution within their infrastructure. This paper introduces an IoT-based industrial management system designed to tackle these challenges and enhance ESCOM's operational efficiency, energy management, and overall performance.

State management of rural electricity in Phu Tho province

Electricity is an essential factor for the swift development of a country’s socio-economic status. For rural areas, electricity plays an even more important role in changing the face of rural areas, helping to gradually narrow the gap between rural and urban areas. This study uses both primary and secondary data collection methods. The primary data comes from a survey of 50 managers and employees of the Phu Tho Electricity company. The secondary data comes from a survey of 120 households in the province that use electricity. Research findings suggest that the management of rural electricity prices has been completed, including the establishment of a price bracket to control and limit abnormal price increases (the price bracket for the average retail electricity price ranges from 1,490 VND/Kwh to 1,582 VND/Kwh); gradually implementing advanced types of rural power management, such as rural cooperatives, etc. However, there are existing barriers to the state's management of rural electricity in Phu Tho province. These include the province's wide area, the traversal of power lines across hilly terrain with numerous trees and other obstacles, and the fact that the landscape shifts shape every time it rains, floods, or is hit by a tornado. In instance, the energy service cooperatives that oversee the rural low-voltage grid have not invested in upgrades in many years. As a result, electrical service continues to deteriorate. The purpose of this research is to examine the power structure of state management of rural power in the province. Therefore, this paper recommends and discusses potential options to strengthen the role of state management of rural power in Phu Tho province in the future.

Nonintrusive Motor Current Signature Analysis

Motor current signature analysis (MCSA) techniques measure slip-related current signals in the supply lines of a squirrel-cage induction machine (SCIM) for slip estimation, fault detection, and motor diagnostics. In a traditional setup for MCSA, current sensors directly measure the machine currents and are usually installed physically close to the machine of interest, e.g., current transducers clamped about the machine stator leads. For grid-connected SCIMs, the slip-related current signals propagate through the power system. Thus, a single aggregate power monitor can potentially perform MCSA for a collection of SCIMs powered by a common electrical service, referred to in this article as nonintrusive MCSA. Current division and system impedances (source impedance, load impedances, and machine parameters) determine the applicability of nonintrusive MCSA. This article demonstrates measurement hardware, modeling, and experimental results for nonintrusive MCSA. Analysis and results investigate the current-source model of a grid-connected SCIM and its interaction with the system impedances. Applied to a distribution system with multiple machines, the techniques inform when nonintrusive MCSA is possible for collections of SCIMs and equivalent to traditional MCSA.

Using Information and Communication Technology to Enforce Non-Payment of Water Bills: The Case of Water Supply and Sanitation Authorities in Tanzania

Sanitation and having access to clean water are human rights. To serve everyone, water and sanitation service providers must be able to run and maintain a profit. However, this capability is frequently jeopardized by missed or late water bill payments. The ability of utilities to provide appropriate service is directly impacted by non-payment, which also hinders the fulfillment of human right regarding to water and sanitation services. In this study, a mechanism for enforcing prompt payment of water bills which utilize the Electricity Prepaid Metering System is designed. In order to put the designed mechanism into practice, a prototype application has been created. Through in-person interviews with system administrators, data about the Electricity Prepaid Metering System and Water Management Information System was gathered. The proposed enforcement mechanism was designed with the use of a Design Science Research technique. The findings indicate that people who owe unpaid water bills are automatically denied access to electricity services

Relevance of Electrical Services Engineers in Construction and Building Services

It is now a common phenomenon in building services that some builders/clients call for the services of the electrical contractor/technicians to carry out an electrical installation without the provision or availability of standard electrical services drawings, at times due to the negligence of the builder/client about the importance of electrical services drawings or in other to reduce cost, which is detrimental and hazardous to the building, pieces of equipment installed or the occupants in the future. This paper analyses the relevance of electrical services engineers in construction and building services. A well-structured online survey was adopted and shared with different engineering platforms where building and construction professionals are to know the practice at various building and construction sites, and a total of 230 responses were collected, the data collected were examined using the descriptive statistics method with good pictorial representation. The result of the survey shows that 20% of the respondents complained about the absence of electrical services drawings, 38% complained that the electrical services drawings provided are not practicable, and 42% of the respondents talked about the availability of relevant electrical services drawings. The analysis from this study confirms that several electrical installations were carried out without the provision of practicable electrical services drawings, especially in domestic installations. It is recommended that the services of qualified electrical services engineers should be employed for standard electrical services drawings, which will give detailed information about the method of wiring, the suitable size/type of distribution, and the protection scheme for lighting and power installations in conformity with the appropriate standard and regulations for effective and well-balanced electrical services.