Medium voltage consumers’ cost evaluation connected to a micro-grid PV system

The increase in the deployment of photovoltaic systems has brought a change to the national grid and directly influences the energy charges applied by the utilities. Different types of tariffs are applied to consumers for electrical energy. These tariffs differ according to the level of voltages tha...

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Main Authors: Boitumelo Mokoena, Patrick S. Pouabe Eboule, Jan Harm C. Pretorius
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2022-11-01
Series:Energy Reports
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352484722009544
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author Boitumelo Mokoena
Patrick S. Pouabe Eboule
Jan Harm C. Pretorius
author_facet Boitumelo Mokoena
Patrick S. Pouabe Eboule
Jan Harm C. Pretorius
author_sort Boitumelo Mokoena
collection DOAJ
description The increase in the deployment of photovoltaic systems has brought a change to the national grid and directly influences the energy charges applied by the utilities. Different types of tariffs are applied to consumers for electrical energy. These tariffs differ according to the level of voltages that are supplied to the customers. The low voltage applies to household customers and some small businesses, while the medium voltage grid supplies the industries using voltages higher than that of low voltages. In South Africa, the medium voltage grid-tied solar photovoltaic customers can operate a network that generates up to 100MW of power from their solar systems without a licence. However, the tariffs that apply to such customers are the same as those who do not have solar systems since operating without a licence does not permit feeding power back to the grid. Many industries use medium voltages, and it is crucial to evaluate the cost-effective tariffs for medium voltages with a solar system. This paper uses consumption data to verify the type of tariffs that result in lower energy charges. It was found that the large power user tariffs result in higher energy charges than the time of use tariffs during holidays and weekends and vice versa during weekdays. However, the paper concludes that the time of use tariffs can lower energy costs if applied in a grid-tied solar system with battery storage, provided that the batteries supply power during peak hours.
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spelling doaj.art-aa8eb63be303485ab52c980b65eab58c2023-01-20T04:24:58ZengElsevierEnergy Reports2352-48472022-11-018235244Medium voltage consumers’ cost evaluation connected to a micro-grid PV systemBoitumelo Mokoena0Patrick S. Pouabe Eboule1Jan Harm C. Pretorius2Postgraduate School of Engineering Management, University of Johannesburg, 2092 Johannesburg, South AfricaCorresponding author.; Postgraduate School of Engineering Management, University of Johannesburg, 2092 Johannesburg, South AfricaPostgraduate School of Engineering Management, University of Johannesburg, 2092 Johannesburg, South AfricaThe increase in the deployment of photovoltaic systems has brought a change to the national grid and directly influences the energy charges applied by the utilities. Different types of tariffs are applied to consumers for electrical energy. These tariffs differ according to the level of voltages that are supplied to the customers. The low voltage applies to household customers and some small businesses, while the medium voltage grid supplies the industries using voltages higher than that of low voltages. In South Africa, the medium voltage grid-tied solar photovoltaic customers can operate a network that generates up to 100MW of power from their solar systems without a licence. However, the tariffs that apply to such customers are the same as those who do not have solar systems since operating without a licence does not permit feeding power back to the grid. Many industries use medium voltages, and it is crucial to evaluate the cost-effective tariffs for medium voltages with a solar system. This paper uses consumption data to verify the type of tariffs that result in lower energy charges. It was found that the large power user tariffs result in higher energy charges than the time of use tariffs during holidays and weekends and vice versa during weekdays. However, the paper concludes that the time of use tariffs can lower energy costs if applied in a grid-tied solar system with battery storage, provided that the batteries supply power during peak hours.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352484722009544Large power userPV systemTariffs evaluationTime of use
spellingShingle Boitumelo Mokoena
Patrick S. Pouabe Eboule
Jan Harm C. Pretorius
Medium voltage consumers’ cost evaluation connected to a micro-grid PV system
Energy Reports
Large power user
PV system
Tariffs evaluation
Time of use
title Medium voltage consumers’ cost evaluation connected to a micro-grid PV system
title_full Medium voltage consumers’ cost evaluation connected to a micro-grid PV system
title_fullStr Medium voltage consumers’ cost evaluation connected to a micro-grid PV system
title_full_unstemmed Medium voltage consumers’ cost evaluation connected to a micro-grid PV system
title_short Medium voltage consumers’ cost evaluation connected to a micro-grid PV system
title_sort medium voltage consumers cost evaluation connected to a micro grid pv system
topic Large power user
PV system
Tariffs evaluation
Time of use
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352484722009544
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