Demand Response From Household Customers: Experiences From a Pilot Study in Norway

This paper presents experiences from a pilot study focusing on daily demand response from households, utilizing smart metering, remote load control, pricing based on the hourly spot price combined with a time of day network tariff, and a token provided to the customers indicating peak hours. The observed demand response was 1 kWh/h for customers with standard electrical water heaters. By aggregating this response, the potential for demand response from 50% of Norwegian households can be estimated at 1000 MWh/h (4.2% of registered peak load demand in Norway). A cost-effective realization of this potential should have high focus when considering smart metering technology. From a market perspective, a potential load reduction of this size should be bid into the day ahead market. Demand response to price (the day after) will not affect the price, but might create imbalances and the need for activating balancing resources, creating additional costs.