A techno-economic comparison of demand side management with other flexibility options

Abstract

This chapter assesses the techno-economic characteristics of demand side management (DSM) in comparison with other flexibility options (e.g., energy storages) in order to estimate its flexibility and benefit for the system integration of renewable energy sources (RES). The results show that load shedding and load shifting are less flexible than other flexibility options and can therefore only balance short-term fluctuations. In contrast, load increase is more flexible and can integrate excess feed-in from RES also over longer periods. Analysis about the impact of DSM on other flexibility options show, that DSM lowers utilization and contribution margin of peak load plants and energy storages, while it increases both for baseload power plants. More electricity is consumed nationally due to DSM as it decreases imports and exports.