Flexibility is important for the security of supply in a future power system based mostly on renewable energies. In particular, greater flexibility on the demand side can play a significant role. In view of the discussion about the security of supply, sufficient capacity and system costs, strengthening demand response is gaining priority.
In Germany, however, the potential for greater flexibility on the demand side has hardly been exhausted. A lack of steering effects through price signals, as well as regulatory issues, are the main reasons for this. The barriers are diverse, and they prevent undiscriminated and equal access to the demand side along the entire value chain. Eliminating barriers for greater flexibility of demand is therefore a central element in the current debate over the market design. This would ensure fair competition between all flexibility options, both in supply and in demand.
The goal of this project was to come up with recommendations, giving priority to specific actors and timeliness, in the form of an action plan for demand response. It shows under which conditions the potential for demand response can be realised and harnessed in the short and medium term. For this, selected areas were researched in depth.