The Impact of Intracommunal Network Service Pricing on the Economic Feasibility of an Energy Community

Abstract

As people aspire to reduce energy expenditures, local photovoltaic installations that are co-owned by multiple single-family homes are gaining interest. Energy communities are formed, where the members together agree on the methods of energy allocation. As the households are likely to rely on using the local distribution system operator grid, a network service charge is imposed on the intracommunal energy transmission from the solar installation to the houses, affecting its economic viability. This paper presents how energy balance settlement can be carried out using a blockchain-based ledger that would allow differentiation of intracommunal and extracommunal network services in the form of possible pricing reduction for the intracommunal network service. Even a 50% reduction, on average, increases the savings for the six-household community under study by approx. 16.42%. However, even without any pricing reductions, shared photovoltaic installations can be viable and the energy allocation can be carried out without major investments in infrastructure.