IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/eneeco/v54y2016icp108-122.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Distribution network prices and solar PV: Resolving rate instability and wealth transfers through demand tariffs

Author

Listed:
  • Simshauser, Paul

Abstract

1-in-4 detached households in Southeast Queensland have installed rooftop solar PV—amongst the highest take-up rates in the world. Electricity distribution network capacity is primarily driven by periodic demand, and household load generally peaks in the early evening, whereas solar PV production peaks during the middle of the day and thus a mismatch exists. Compounding matters is the fact that the structure of the regulated two-part network tariff is dominated by a flat-rate variable charge. In this article, interval meter data at the customer switchboard circuit level confirms that solar households use only slightly less peak capacity than non-solar households and, that non-trivial cross-subsidies are rapidly emerging. A tariff model demonstrates that a peak capacity-based ‘demand tariff’ is a more efficient, cost-reflective and equitable pricing structure that improves the stability of tariffs given a rate-of-return regulatory constraint.

Suggested Citation

  • Simshauser, Paul, 2016. "Distribution network prices and solar PV: Resolving rate instability and wealth transfers through demand tariffs," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 108-122.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:eneeco:v:54:y:2016:i:c:p:108-122
    DOI: 10.1016/j.eneco.2015.11.011
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140988315003060
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.eneco.2015.11.011?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Severance, Craig A., 2011. "A Practical, Affordable (and Least Business Risk) Plan to Achieve "80% Clean Electricity" by 2035," The Electricity Journal, Elsevier, vol. 24(6), pages 8-26, July.
    2. Yew‐Kwang Ng, 1987. "Equity, Efficiency and Financial Viability: Public‐Utility Pricing with Special Reference to Water Supply," Australian Economic Review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, vol. 20(3), pages 21-35, September.
    3. Nelson, Tim & Orton, Fiona, 2013. "A new approach to congestion pricing in electricity markets: Improving user pays pricing incentives," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 1-7.
    4. Faruqui, Ahmad & Sergici, Sanem & Sharif, Ahmed, 2010. "The impact of informational feedback on energy consumption—A survey of the experimental evidence," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(4), pages 1598-1608.
    5. Faruqui, Ahmad, 2010. "The Ethics of Dynamic Pricing," The Electricity Journal, Elsevier, vol. 23(6), pages 13-27, July.
    6. Manuel Frondel & Christoph M. Schmidt & Colin Vance, 2014. "Revisiting Germanyùs solar cell promotion: An unfolding disaster," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(1), pages 3-13.
    7. Tim Nelson & Paul Simshauser & James Nelson, 2012. "Queensland solar feed-in tariffs and the merit-order effect: economic benefit, or regressive taxation and wealth transfers?," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(3), pages 277-301, December.
    8. Burtt, D. & Dargusch, P., 2015. "The cost-effectiveness of household photovoltaic systems in reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Australia: Linking subsidies with emission reductions," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 439-448.
    9. Koichiro Ito, 2014. "Do Consumers Respond to Marginal or Average Price? Evidence from Nonlinear Electricity Pricing," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(2), pages 537-563, February.
    10. Shira Horowitz and Lester Lave, 2014. "Equity in Residential Electricity Pricing," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 2).
    11. Paul L. Joskow, 1976. "Contributions to the Theory of Marginal Cost Pricing," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 7(1), pages 197-206, Spring.
    12. Ralph Turvey, 1968. "Peak-Load Pricing," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 76(1), pages 101-101.
    13. Paul Simshauser, 2014. "From First Place to Last: The National Electricity Market's Policy-Induced ‘Energy Market Death Spiral’," Australian Economic Review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, vol. 47(4), pages 540-562, December.
    14. Paul Simshauser & David Downer, 2012. "Dynamic Pricing and the Peak Electricity Load Problem," Australian Economic Review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, vol. 45(3), pages 305-324, September.
    15. Felder, Frank A., 2010. "The Practical Equity Implications of Advanced Metering Infrastructure," The Electricity Journal, Elsevier, vol. 23(6), pages 56-64, July.
    16. Peter O. Steiner, 1957. "Peak Loads and Efficient Pricing," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 71(4), pages 585-610.
    17. Sun, Peng & Nie, Pu-yan, 2015. "A comparative study of feed-in tariff and renewable portfolio standard policy in renewable energy industry," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 255-262.
    18. Simshauser, Paul, 2010. "Resource Adequacy, Capital Adequacy and Investment Uncertainty in the Australian Power Market," The Electricity Journal, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 67-84, January.
    19. Faruqui, Ahmad & Malko, J.Robert, 1983. "The residential demand for electricity by time-of-use: A survey of twelve experiments with peak load pricing," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 8(10), pages 781-795.
    20. S. Borenstein, 2013. "Effective and Equitable Adoption of Opt-In Residential Dynamic Electricity Pricing," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 42(2), pages 127-160, March.
    21. John T. Wenders, 1976. "Peak Load Pricing in the Electric Utility Industry," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 7(1), pages 232-241, Spring.
    22. Dusonchet, L. & Telaretti, E., 2015. "Comparative economic analysis of support policies for solar PV in the most representative EU countries," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 986-998.
    23. Steve A. Fenrick, Lullit Getachew, Chris Ivanov, and Jeff Smith, 2014. "Demand Impact of a Critical Peak Pricing Program: Opt-in and Opt-out Options, Green Attitudes and Other Customer Characteristics," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 3).
    24. Michael A. Crew & Paul R. Kleindorfer, 1976. "Peak Load Pricing with a Diverse Technology," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 7(1), pages 207-231, Spring.
    25. Ahmad Faruqui & Sanem Sergici, 2010. "Household response to dynamic pricing of electricity: a survey of 15 experiments," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 38(2), pages 193-225, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Simshauser, Paul, 2018. "Price discrimination and the modes of failure in deregulated retail electricity markets," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 54-70.
    2. Paul Simshauser and David Downer, 2016. "On the Inequity of Flat-rate Electricity Tariffs," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 3).
    3. Simshauser, Paul, 2022. "Rooftop solar PV and the peak load problem in the NEM's Queensland region," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    4. Simshauser, P., 2021. "Rooftop Solar PV and the Peak Load Problem in the NEM’s Queensland Region," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 2180, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    5. Clastres, Cédric & Khalfallah, Haikel, 2021. "Dynamic pricing efficiency with strategic retailers and consumers: An analytical analysis of short-term market interactions," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    6. Krishnamurthy, Chandra Kiran B. & Vesterberg, Mattias & Böök, Herman & Lindfors, Anders V. & Svento, Rauli, 2018. "Real-time pricing revisited: Demand flexibility in the presence of micro-generation," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 642-658.
    7. Paul L. Joskow & Roger G. Noll, 1981. "Regulation in Theory and Practice: An Overview," NBER Chapters, in: Studies in Public Regulation, pages 1-78, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Cédric Clastres & Haikel Khalfallah, 2021. "Dynamic pricing efficiency with strategic retailers and consumers: An analytical analysis of short-term market interactions," Post-Print hal-03193212, HAL.
    9. Mark W. Gellerson & Shawna P. Grosskopf, 1980. "Public Utility Pricing, Investment, and Reliability under Uncertainty: A Review," Public Finance Review, , vol. 8(4), pages 477-492, October.
    10. Cédric Clastres & Haikel Khalfallah, 2020. "Retailers' strategies facing demand response and markets interactions," Working Papers hal-03167543, HAL.
    11. Choi, Dong Gu & Murali, Karthik, 2022. "The impact of heterogeneity in consumer characteristics on the design of optimal time-of-use tariffs," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 254(PB).
    12. A. Gürhan Kök & Kevin Shang & Şafak Yücel, 2018. "Impact of Electricity Pricing Policies on Renewable Energy Investments and Carbon Emissions," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 64(1), pages 131-148, January.
    13. Mathias Mier, 2018. "Policy Implications of a World with Renewables, Limited Dispatchability, and Fixed Load," Working Papers V-412-18, University of Oldenburg, Department of Economics, revised Jul 2018.
    14. Dong Gu Choi & Michael K. Lim & Karthik Murali & Valerie M. Thomas, 2020. "Why Have Voluntary Time‐of‐Use Tariffs Fallen Short in the Residential Sector?," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 29(3), pages 617-642, March.
    15. Mier, Mathias, 2021. "Efficient pricing of electricity revisited," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    16. Woo, C.K. & Liu, Y. & Zarnikau, J. & Shiu, A. & Luo, X. & Kahrl, F., 2018. "Price elasticities of retail energy demands in the United States: New evidence from a panel of monthly data for 2001–2016," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 222(C), pages 460-474.
    17. Simshauser, Paul & Whish-Wilson, Patrick, 2017. "Price discrimination in Australia's retail electricity markets: An analysis of Victoria & Southeast Queensland," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 92-103.
    18. de la Hoz, Jordi & Martín, Helena & Miret, Jaume & Castilla, Miguel & Guzman, Ramon, 2016. "Evaluating the 2014 retroactive regulatory framework applied to the grid connected PV systems in Spain," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 170(C), pages 329-344.
    19. Woo, C.K. & Li, R. & Shiu, A. & Horowitz, I., 2013. "Residential winter kWh responsiveness under optional time-varying pricing in British Columbia," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 288-297.
    20. Farhad Daruwala & Frank T. Denton & Dean C. Mountain, 2017. "One Size May Not Fit All: Welfare Benefits And Cost Reductions With Differentiated Household Electricity Rates In A General Equilibrium Model," Department of Economics Working Papers 2017-03, McMaster University.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Electricity utilities; Electricity prices; Demand tariffs;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q41 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Demand and Supply; Prices
    • Q42 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Alternative Energy Sources
    • D61 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Allocative Efficiency; Cost-Benefit Analysis
    • L51 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy - - - Economics of Regulation
    • L94 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities - - - Electric Utilities
    • L97 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities - - - Utilities: General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:eneeco:v:54:y:2016:i:c:p:108-122. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/eneco .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.