The value of TSO-DSO coordination in re-dispatch with flexible decentralized energy sources: Insights for Germany in 2030

Abstract

As Germany plans to raise the share of energy consumption satisfied by Renewable Energy Sources (RES) up to 65%, congestion in the transmission grids will drastically increase in the power system unless the grids are substantially upgraded or new flexibility options are considered. In this paper, we explore possible integration mechanisms of a potentially powerful source of flexibility: Distributed Energy Resources (DERs). Currently, there is no advanced regulatory system for including them into the established electricity markets. We investigate the application of load flexibility DERs can provide for assisting the re-dispatch necessary in electricity markets that employ a zonal pricing mechanism. We implement two different cases with varying levels of involvement of the DSOs and compare their performance with a business-as-usual case in one scenario from 2015 and one prediction for 2030. Findings include that while both cases facilitate the system-wide re-dispatch concerning volume and cost, the average value of optimal load-shifting is not high enough in 2015 to incentivize investment in this area. However, at the higher percentages of generation from RES in the future scenario, this value becomes promising and using DERs for this purpose may provide long-term benefits to the system operators and owners of assets alike. © 2022 The Author(s)