Peer-to-peer electricity trading: challenges for the distribution system operator (DSO) under EU law

摘要

The electricity market’s current organization is top- down and centralized: electricity is produced in large plants and then transported over transmission and distribution lines to end users. As renewable production increases, this business model is assumed to change. Indeed, so-called ‘prosumers’ could sell excess electricity and require other energy-related services (e.g. battery storage and electrical vehicle charging). Accordingly, the DSO’s business model will have to adapt to increased local flows of electricity. In turn, this will require an updated legal framework and regulatory approach. In this paper, I highlight some key changes in the legal and regulatory framework of DSOs. This will be done through an explorative analysis of the EU law requirements. Next, this is confronted with the rules on peer-to-peer electricity trading. Subsequently, I investigate the impact of new market players such as microgrids and energy communities on the role of the ‘public’ DSO. This paper closes with the suggestion to adopt the term ‘neutral market facilitator’ for the new role DSOs perform in the energy transition.