The Impact of Energy Communities on Electricity Distribution Business: Aspects on Seasonal Turnover Risks for the Distribution System Operator

Abstract

This paper discusses electricity distribution network pricing in the case of multi-apartment buildings as energy communities (ECs) in the Finnish electricity market environment. Electricity distribution network tariffs for ECs have been a topic of interest as the EU legislation steers the members states to both further the emergence of ECs and ensure that they contribute to the sharing of the system costs. A case study is presented in which data from a multi-apartment building and tariffs of 3 Finnish distribution system operators (DSOs) are used to study the impacts of an EC on the DSO turnover at a monthly level. The results show that, with present tariffs of the studied DSOs, the turnover risk for the DSO increases when different electrical energy resources are included. Ways to develop the DSO pricing to mitigate the turnover risks and simultaneously comply with the goals set in the EU legislation should be pursued.