A P2P-dominant Distribution System Architecture
For electric power utilities and prosumers, this work addresses the challenge of financially accounting for peer-to-peer energy trades within distribution network constraints.
This paper proposes a peer-to-peer energy trading architecture that integrates distribution network operations, using distribution locational marginal prices to compute network usage charges. The architecture is presented in two configurations: one centralized (utility-settled) and one peer-centric.
Peer-to-peer interactions between small-scale energy resources exploit distribution network infrastructure as an electricity carrier, but remain financially unaccountable to electric power utilities. This status-quo raises multiple challenges. First, peer-to-peer energy trading reduces the portion of electricity supplied to end-customers by utilities and their revenue streams. Second, utilities must ensure that peer-to-peer transactions comply with distribution network limits. This paper proposes a peer-to-peer energy trading architecture, in two configurations, that couples peer-to-peer interactions and distribution network operations. The first configuration assumes that these interactions are settled by the utility in a centralized manner, while the second one is peer-centric and does not involve the utility. Both configurations use distribution locational marginal prices to compute network usage charges that peers must pay to the utility for using the distribution network.