CEDEC Annual konferens 15-10-2015 The role of Swedish local DSO in creating flexibility in the energy value chain
Elinorr Joint venture of 16 local grid operators according to the European public procurement directive Area of operation middle-north of Sweden approximately 250 000 connected customers Majority of the members of the association are owned by municipalities Legislations is requiring municipal companies to act only within the borders of their municipality Local distribution networks are typically operated with a voltage level of 0,4-20 kv and owned by municipalities. The distribution to consumer goes via the local distribution networks with the exception of high electricity consuming industries, which are connected directly to the regional distribution networks
Swedish energymarket Electricity production dominated by 3 companies VAB(45%), Fortum (16%) and E.ON (17%), Statkraft (3%), Skelleftea (2%) The other 17% is provided by small producers. Hydro (48%) and nuclear power (38%) are the two power sources that are dominant in the Swedish energy mix. Windpower (8%) is increasing rapidly. No price regulation on the retail market. Customers are eligible to choose and change the electricity supplier freely Roughly 5.3 million electricity consumers in Sweden. Homes and services (52%) of the total energy consumption, mineral extraction and production (36%) Electricity consumption per capita is approximately 15,000 kwh per person/year The Swedish electricity grid is divided into three levels depending on the voltage level: transmission (220 or 400 kv), regional (40-130 kv) and local (0.4-20 kv). Around 170 DSOs, mainly owned by municipalities with politically appointed boards DSOs can be divided in a wide range of scale, varying from just 50 connections to 400,000 connections (excepted the big 3)
Smart metering reform From 1st of July 2006; hourly metering for customers over 63 Ampere, Monthly metering for all other customers from 1/7 2009 Hourly metering for all customers with Spot price contract 1/10 2012 99 % of all meters replaced by 1st of July 2009 Main driver for legislation was for customers to get a greater awareness of energy consumption No more yearly estimates customer receive bill for actual consumption DSOs are responsible of metering. Balance settlement is based on metered hourly values also for the small consumption sites 2016 ambition to be able to connect and disconnect customers under 63 Ampere on distance if necessary
DSO learnings / benefits Invoicing based on actual consumption rather than estimated values (balanced annually) Decreased number of customer calls to contact center Easier and quicker to explain the invoices Annual bill always creates confusion and discrepancy between invoiced and actual sum Increased number of questions during change phase Even more questions during winter than summer
Energy consumption Different experiences regarding changed behavior in using energy. Information and campaigns rather then access to hourly values (or meter readings) or even momentarily values makes changes happen regarding customer consumption. Almost all changes have been noticed in single family houses or vacation houses (not flats)
Storage facilities in Sweden Swedish Coordination Council for Smart Grid 12-2014 action plan Energy storage huge potential for contributing to a more sustainable energy system End User Power Quality, Power Reliability, Retail TOU Energy Charges, Retail Demand Charges DSO Voltage Support, Defer Distribution Investment, Distribution Losses, load management Legal obstacles for Swedish DSOs concerning storage facilities Few small scale producers, so far no real household storages No aggregators in Sweden yet, BR is a problem for DSO