"DC for AC"… No Hard-Rock Band, but a New and Unregulated Business Model for Electricity Retail Markets

Even though the electricity retail markets have been liberalised for several years now, there is still a distinct lack of competition. The recent developments in the field of Smart Metering and a Smart Grid infrastructure, however, offer new opportunities to remedy this shortcoming. Therefore, in the following essay we would like to introduce and discuss a sample business model - which could be realised in the near future - utilising these new technologies: Delivery-by-Call (DC). The goal of DC is to make it possible to purchase electricity in an automated, digitally driven process for varying time frames from different suppliers. Basically, DC offers an alternative way of distribution for electricity suppliers, i.e. it enables them to sell their product to consumers using DC-services. The consumer benefit herein lies in the possibility to switch between competing suppliers present on the DC-platform within minutes, which enables them to profit from different tariffs of varying suppliers. Thus, DC could prove to be a catalyst for the Smart Grid development by providing a monetary incentive for households to insist on the installation of a Smart Meter.