| 摘要 | ��
When the margin between available capacity and demand is thin in a liberalized electricity market, prices rise steeply and system reliability is threatened. The principal response to these circumstances is often an assumption that price spikes and electricity shortages are the result of a failure to build sufficient new supplying facilities. It is, of course, often the case that additional investments in generation and network facilities would improve reliability, and such investments are often needed. But focusing on additional generation and transmission facilities for restoring balance to the grid overlooks the essential fact that reliability is a function of the relationship between supply and demand, imposing unnecessary costs on electric system. When the relationship is out of balance, the search for solutions must consider not only investments supply-side resources but also cost-effective demand-side resources such as accelerated load management, efficiency measures, and price-responsive load programs. Integrating demand resources into electricity markets can add enormous value to the electric system, widening the capacity margin, lowering costs and enhancing system reliability at the same time.
This paper begins by examining several challenges now facing electricity markets: potential reliability problems, price spikes, and generators' market power. It then examines the high costs and risks of an exclusive supply-side approach to these problems and the relative importance of demand-side resources for their resolution.
The paper concludes with a series of policy recommendations in three areas: (1) measures to incorporate demand responses and demand-side resources into modern electricity markets, (2) policies for the rate structures and operations of wires companies and retailers in order to remove regulatory barriers to demand-side resources, and (3) measures to support investments in efficiency and load management where market barriers continue to stand in the way of cost-effective efficiency investments.
The paper also suggests three basic public policy commitments for finding a better balance between supply-side and demand-side investments for system reliability. First, decision-makers should acknowledge that the reservoir of demand-side opportunities is a large and useful resource for reliability management. Second, public policies should aim to capture the full range of demand-side resources available to the grid. Third, decision-makers should aim to develop a broad array of balancing solutions, considering opportunities for improvement exist in many areas, from the tariffs and market rules governing operation of power pools and transmission systems, to the rate designs.
86 pages, 14 refs., 4 figs., 3 tabs., Language: Korean |
