| Srl | Item |
| 1 |
ID:
110427
|
|
|
|
|
| Publication |
2011.
|
| Summary/Abstract |
The efficient reduction of GHG emissions requires appropriate retail pricing of off-peak electricity. However, off-peak electricity for residential consumers is priced at 331% above its marginal cost in the United States as a whole (June 2009). Even for the 1% of residences that are on some form of time-of-use (TOU) rate schedule, the off-peak rate is almost three times higher than the marginal cost. A barrier to marginal-cost based TOU rates is that less than 9% of U.S. households have the "smart" meters in place that can measure and record the time of consumption. Policies should be put in place to achieve full deployment. Another important barrier is consumer concern about TOU rate design. Two TOU rate designs (baseline and two-part tariff) are described that utilize marginal-cost based rates, ensure appropriate cost recovery, and minimize bill changes from current rate structures. A final barrier is to get residences on to these rates. Should a marginal-cost based TOU rate design remain an alternative for which residences could "opt-in," or become the default choice, or become mandatory? Time-invariant rates are a historical anachronism that subsidize very costly peak-period consumption and penalize off-peak usage to our environmental detriment. They should be phased out.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 2 |
ID:
111334
|
|
|
|
|
| Publication |
2012.
|
| Summary/Abstract |
Plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) offer the potential for both reducing reliance on oil and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However, they may also increase the demand for electricity during peak periods, thereby requiring the construction of new generating units and increasing total costs to electricity consumers. We evaluate the economic costs and benefits of policies that shift charging demand from daytime to off-peak nighttime hours, using data for two different independent system operators and considering a number of sensitivity analyses. We find that the total savings from demand-shifting run into the billions of dollars, though as a percentage of total electricity costs they are quite small. The value of smart charging policy varies significantly across electric grids. Time-of-use pricing is worthwhile under all of the cases we study, but the economic benefits of optimal charging of electric vehicles do not appear to justify investing in the smart grid infrastructure required to implement real-time pricing.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|