Evaluating the Customers’ Benefits of Hourly Pricing Based on Day-Ahead Spot Market

Rapport, 2013

Customers with hourly electricity pricing can reduce their electricity cost by shifting their electricity demand in time. However, it is not known how much different customer could gain. As most hourly pricing contracts in Sweden are designed today, customers will know the electricity prices 12-36 hours in advance and will have the possibility to schedule their electricity usage in order to reduce their cost of electricity. In this study, three houses with different load profiles and heat demand are investigated to evaluate the possible savings that could be achieved by adapting to hourly pricing. Heating, laundry machines and dishwashers are assumed to be flexible loads that could be shifted in time. The study results show that the economic incentives to reschedule loads based on the hourly pricing will be limited for customers without electric heating. Even for customers with electric heating, the economic incentives may be too low to adapt to hourly tariffs based on the day-ahead spot market.