Energy community demand-side flexibility: Energy storage and electricity tariff synergies

Innovative electricity tariffs are effective tools for incentivizing efficient management of distributed energy assets of consumers, which can contribute to accommodating greater renewable energy generation in smart energy systems. This paper presents an investigation into the interplay between energy storage ownership, electricity tariff design, and energy sharing within the context of community energy and active consumers. Using a mixed-integer linear programming model, the study aims to explore the impact of different storage systems and tariffs and the impact of energy sharing on peak power exchanges and the autonomy of a local energy community. The results show that energy sharing, and storage integration improve energy autonomy and have a net-positive impact on peak power reduction in most cases. Nevertheless, there are specific cases for which electricity tariffs incentivize economically rational consumers to shift and even increase their peak electricity demand. For the case explored, this work identifies the circumstances under which such impacts occur. The findings advocate for the adoption of local energy sharing in communities, implementation of capacity charges in network tariffs, and careful consideration of the impact that price responsive consumers have on the power system under dynamic tariffs.