Hushålls förändrade elanvändningsmönster - En studie om hur Kraftringens hushållskunder har påverkats av höga och volatila elpriser.

Sammanfattning: All grid companies, including Kraftringen, must until 2027 implement a new price component in the grid fee, a time differentiated effect fee which aims to create incentives for households to even out their electricity consumption over the day. During the fall and winter of 2022, the electricity prices rose a lot and the variability in the electricity price throughout the day was high. Many households therefore made changes in their electricity consumption to decrease their electricity bills, and lessons can be learned from these behavioral changes. Within the framework of this study, the electricity consumption and consumption pattern of Kraftringen’s household customers during the fall and winter of 2022/23 were studied. The purpose of the study was to analyze what changes the household customers with an hourly rate agreement have made in their consumption patterns, how high price levels and large differences in price levels have impacted households’ behavior, and how this affects the load on the electricity grid. The purpose of an effect fee and how it can impact households to make behavioral changes was also included. The method consisted of an analysis of household customers’ electricity consumption during 2022, interviews with household customers about what changes they have made in their electricity consumption and interviews with grid companies about the impact of an effect fee on households’ electricity use. The result of the study showed that households with hourly rate agreements had in 2022 decreased their electricity consumption by 12 – 28 percent compared to 2020, due to the high price levels. The volatility in the price levels has contributed to households with an hourly rate agreement moving part of their consumption to hours with lower spot prices throughout the day and night. A difference that could be seen was that the afternoon peak has decreased and partly been moved to the night. The electricity consumption is therefore more spread out over the day, which is positive for the grid. The night peak is more clearly seen for households with an EV charger, probably since charging has been moved to the night. The interviewed households' actions to lower their electricity costs were, among other things, decreasing the temperature inside and moving the charging of the vehicle in time. The effect peaks during 2022 rarely exceeded the peaks during 2020. This indicates that the load on the grid should not have increased significantly due to the increased number of households with an hourly rate agreement during the fall and winter of 2022/23 even though more households probably have electric vehicles 2022 compared to 2020. The purpose of an effect fee is to even out the consumption to decrease the load on the grid and therefore not have to make large investments in the grid. Interviews with grid companies show that the fee can contribute to households decreasing their effect peaks. Distinct information to the customers is important when implementing the effect tariff for the households to understand how they can change their behavior and affect the cost.