Risk vs. restriction—An investigation of capacity-limitation based congestion management in electric distribution grids

Risk vs. restriction—An investigation of capacity-limitation based congestion management in electric distribution grids

Hennig, R.J. (TU Delft Energie and Industrie)
De Vries, Laurens (TU Delft Energie and Industrie)
Tindemans, Simon H. (TU Delft Intelligent Electrical Power Grids)

2024

Electrification of energy end-uses brings an increasing load on electric distribution grids with load peaks that can cause network congestion. However, many new end-uses like electric vehicles, heat pumps, and electrified industrial processes have some flexibility to move their power consumption away from peak times. Congestion management mechanisms can harness this flexibility. This paper investigates congestion management mechanisms based on limited available network capacity for flexible loads during peak times. A case study discusses and investigates real-world examples of such mechanisms from proposals in Germany and the Netherlands. They differ concerning the lead time at which the capacity limitation is announced, with options from near real-time and day-ahead to long-term. These mechanisms are suited to remove network congestion, but there are significant trade-offs concerning the lead time. A shorter lead time leaves more room for using the network during non-congested times but creates a risk of curtailment for end-users, which may come with associated balancing and re-procurement costs. Longer lead times give more certainty on network access conditions but often restrict network usage even when there is no network congestion.

distribution network
Load control
congestion management
Capacity subscription
Flexibility
Electricity

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:6fc368af-b276-400c-84c7-7b891cec508f

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2023.113976

0301-4215

Energy Policy, 186

Institutional Repository

journal article

© 2024 R.J. Hennig, Laurens De Vries, Simon H. Tindemans