| 摘要 |
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1. Research Purpose
The electric power industry in the world has experienced the deregulation and market liberalization era due to the introduction of competition in generation and retail sector from the monopolistic vertically integrated operation system and entered into smart grid era in which the role of demand side become more important. With the change of periods in the electric power industry, interest in real-time pricing based on marginal cost by hour is gradually increasing. In particular, as it is possible to construct new electric power supply system with innovative development of IT technology, the necessity of real-time pricing is really demanded.
However, the restructuring of electric power industry in Korea was not implemented as planned and the existing structure of industry under Cost-based Pool system exposed limitation in the improvement of efficiency. The pricing system in wholesale market and price regulation system in retail market had negative effects including the distortion of generation resource composition and incurring exorbitant deficit of Korea Electric Power Corporation(KEPCO).
Although the policy direction of government is moving toward the competitive market, it takes more time to reach to the complete competitive market.
In spite of this situation, as a practical strategy of green growth, the implementation of smart grid construction is expected to bring changes of electricity tariff system and industry structure. Accordingly, the enforcement of real-time pricing is under discussion on the premise of the efficiency improvement and the creation of new business model related to the smart grid construction.
However, it is not easy to expect a successful outcome for the introduction of real-time pricing under the current structure of electric power industry and electricity tariff system. We need to review the introduction of real-time pricing in advance in order to implement an overriding pilot project for the future. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to draw up plans of introduction after we review the effect of introduction in advance as well as case study in foreign countries based on the condition of enforcement related to introduction of real-time pricing in the incumbent electric power market in Korea.
2. Summary
In this study, since the real-time pricing in Korea was not carried out before, the case studies of foreign countries are important. Based on their experiences, this study is reviewing the effects including the change of benefit and problem caused by the enforcement of the real-time pricing in Korea. However, we can evaluate the current condition of enforcement for real-time pricing by comparing load pattern in foreign countries with in Korea through the analysis of electricity demand.
The bigger the difference between maximum demand and the next demands in the electric power market is, the more successful the operation of voluntary demand response program such as real-time pricing is. But if we compare load duration curves in foreign countries and Korea, there are more base loads, the loads leveled off generally, and the share of peak load is higher in Korea than in foreign countries. Judging from this characteristic, we can find out that there may be little or not much effect when we introduce the real-time pricing now.
If we look at the case study in foreign countries, U.S.A mostly took the initiative of real-time pricing. It has enforced real-time pricing from before 1990 earlier than mid 1990s when the restructuring of electric power market began and changed the way of enforcement with the restructuring up to now.
While the vertically integrated system in the U.S.A carried out the real-time pricing selectively based on marginal cost pricing, liberalized state in electric power market enforced voluntary or default real-time pricing in the form of reflecting in retail market volatile price resulted from the demand and supply in wholesale market.
As companies implementing real-time pricing in U.S.A, there are Georgia Power, electric power companies in New York, and Commonwealth Edison in Illinois. These companies focused on how they work out the risk of price given to consumer and revenue of supplier caused by switching into real-time pricing. Apart from consumer's voluntary demand response, they are making up for risks with institutional measures of mitigating a variety of risks
Based on the case study in U.S.A, the effects on introduction of real-time pricing in Korea is as follows.
In order to analyze the effects on the introduction of real-time pricing, we can do by figuring out the level of consumer's demand response through estimating the elasticity of demand on price and substitution and measuring the welfare changes. However, it is difficult to analyze it because of data problem caused by the lack of consumer's understanding and the distortion of incentive under the currently simple pilot level of real-time pricing in Korea.
In spite of this problem, the effects on the implementation of real-time pricing can be reviewed beforehand. In the first place, it is important to provide the groundwork in the inducement of demand response on real-time pricing by making the function of price in the current electric power market work normally. With normalization of price function in the electric power market, the convergence of optimal generation resource composition will make the duration curve of price and load similar to the case of U.S.A. In this case, the implementation of real-time pricing is expected to operate the electric power industry efficiently including the reduction of peak generating capacity due to the demand response. On the other hand, if we look at the changes, the key issues on the introduction of real-time pricing are how to deal with consumer's price risks and supplier's loss risks.
As mentioned above, it is a urgent problem to achieve the optimal generation resource composition and the normalization of price function in the electric power market to introduce the real-time pricing in Korea. Without solving the fundamental problems, it is likely to be hard to expect the effects on the introduction of real-time pricing.
3. Research Results and Policy Implications
There are a lot of barriers in introducing real-time pricing in current situation as a result of reviewing changes and problems caused by the introduction of real-time pricing beforehand after we analyzed the condition of introducing real-time pricing in Korea and case study in foreign country.
In the incumbent electric power market, tariff system and composition of generation resource, and the lack of understanding for voluntary demand response act as barriers in introducing real-time pricing. In order to solve these problems, we need to improve a way of pricing in wholesale electric power market and prepare the groundwork. Three things we have to consider at a time of introducing real-time pricing are as follows.
First, we need to review the introduction of real-time pricing considering consumer's price elasticity basically. Second, we need to recognize the limitation of real-time pricing for consumer's demand response in Korea. Third, in addition to Real-Time Pricing, the introduction of Critical Peak Pricing(CPP), other type of demand response pricing, needs to be reviewed. It is because CPP may be more effective, which the price is very high only during the peak hours than real-time pricing in case of consumer not completely responding to marginal price varying by hour.
In order to introduce and implement real-time pricing effectively, it is judged that the change of electric power industry structure is needed. Currently, the electric power industry in Korea is still operated in Cost-based Pool system restricting competition of wholesale market and in regulated retail market under monopolistic system. Under these circumstances, the introduction of real-time pricing is difficult not only to induce consumer's demand response but also to have effects on it. This is because it is more effective to induce consumer's demand response naturally, based on price determination by the supply and demand in the market.
Accordingly, we need flexibility of the competitive market for the efficiency improvement of the overall electric power industry or the creation of new business model through the convergence between the electric power industry and other industry. With the shift from the current regulated retail market to competitive retail market, the expansion of consumer's right to choose supplier may have a positive effect on the implementation of real-time pricing.
Language : Korean |
