Utilities PolicyPub Date : 2025-04-08DOI: 10.1016/j.jup.2025.101938
Shilpa Bindu , Lukas Sigrist , José Pablo Chaves Ávila
{"title":"Frequency stability services to compensate for low inertia in renewable-dominated power systems","authors":"Shilpa Bindu , Lukas Sigrist , José Pablo Chaves Ávila","doi":"10.1016/j.jup.2025.101938","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jup.2025.101938","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The shift towards non-synchronous generation reduces system inertia, creating operational challenges in power systems worldwide. This inertia challenge depends on the synchronous grid size, generation mix, and the existing portfolio of services procured by the system operators. This study examines how five European countries from different synchronous areas address these challenges, focusing on the market-based procurement of inertia-related services. We provide a theoretical background on why stability service markets are challenging to design due to the interplay between different services and their costs. Further, we use a theoretical market framework to analyze the market design elements and to see how aligned they are with the evolving needs of the power system. Our findings stress the importance of investment incentives for low-carbon technologies and proactive market designs to meet evolving stability needs, offering guidance for power systems integrating a high share of renewables.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23554,"journal":{"name":"Utilities Policy","volume":"95 ","pages":"Article 101938"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143792361","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Spatial spillover effects of gender inequality on the path to energy transition and environmental sustainability in Asia","authors":"Sevda Kuşkaya , Erhan Muğaloğlu , Ashar Awan , Kamran Khan , Mohammed Alnour , Cosimo Magazzino , Mohammad Enamul Hoque , Faik Bilgili","doi":"10.1016/j.jup.2025.101935","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jup.2025.101935","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper investigates the spatial spillover effects of gender inequality on energy transition and environmental sustainability in selected Asian countries by applying three spatial panel models: SAR, SEM, and SDM. The two major findings are that (1) gender inequality enhances access to clean fuels, whereas gender inequality and gender unemployment in the neighboring countries hindered access to clean energy in the home country, and (2) female labor force participation both in the home country and in the neighboring countries enhanced access to clean energy. The findings underscore the need for coordinated regional efforts to tackle gender inequality and drive environmental sustainability.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23554,"journal":{"name":"Utilities Policy","volume":"95 ","pages":"Article 101935"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143738987","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Utilities PolicyPub Date : 2025-04-01DOI: 10.1016/j.jup.2025.101936
Lumengo Bonga-Bonga, Vandudzai Mbanda
{"title":"Computable general equilibrium-microsimulation analysis of electricity price increases in South Africa","authors":"Lumengo Bonga-Bonga, Vandudzai Mbanda","doi":"10.1016/j.jup.2025.101936","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jup.2025.101936","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper deals with an important issue of energy resources, especially electricity, and their critical role in addressing a key aspect of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, specifically the goal of poverty alleviation. The analysis applies a computable general equilibrium-microsimulation model to analyse the economy-wide and distributional impacts of the increase in electricity price in an emerging economy with limited electricity supply. A key benefit of this model is that it addresses the distributional and poverty impacts related to the change in electricity prices, which have yet to be covered in previous studies. The paper simulates an actual price increase experienced in the economy and an increase linked to inflation. While the macro results show a negative impact on the economy in terms of a decrease in GDP, an increase in prices and an increase in unemployment, the micro results indicate that poverty declines as measured by the rate and poverty incidence curves. Several policy implications arise from these findings, such as considering more progressive taxation policies to counteract the slight increase in inequality resulting from higher electricity prices.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23554,"journal":{"name":"Utilities Policy","volume":"95 ","pages":"Article 101936"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143747123","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Utilities PolicyPub Date : 2025-03-30DOI: 10.1016/j.jup.2025.101932
Muhammad Shahid , Amjad Ali , Sikandar Abdul Qadir , Md Tasbirul Islam
{"title":"Empowering Saudi Arabia's sustainable energy future: A LEAP-Based approach for balancing energy supply and demand","authors":"Muhammad Shahid , Amjad Ali , Sikandar Abdul Qadir , Md Tasbirul Islam","doi":"10.1016/j.jup.2025.101932","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jup.2025.101932","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Electricity demand in Saudi Arabia is experiencing a volatile upward trend, driven by fluctuations in population and GDP. With non-Saudis making up 40 % of the population, shifts in government policies have directly impacted these numbers, stalling potential growth. Using the Long-range Energy Alternative Planning System (LEAP), four future energy supply and demand scenarios are explored: (1) Low Growth (LG), (2) Medium Growth (MG), (3) High Growth (HG), and (4) High Growth with Demand Management and Energy Efficiency (HGDE). By 2035, demand could soar from 328.6 TWh in the LG scenario to 518 TWh in the HG scenario. Emissions in the LG scenario are projected at 62.1 MMtCO<sub>2</sub>E, increasing to 103.8 MMtCO<sub>2</sub>E in the HG scenario. The implementation of Vision (2030) targets is crucial to supporting this growth.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23554,"journal":{"name":"Utilities Policy","volume":"95 ","pages":"Article 101932"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-03-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143735060","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Utilities PolicyPub Date : 2025-03-27DOI: 10.1016/j.jup.2025.101928
Selahattin Murat Sirin , Amro M. Elshurafa , Nurullah Cakmak
{"title":"The impact of variable renewables on price dynamics within wholesale electricity markets","authors":"Selahattin Murat Sirin , Amro M. Elshurafa , Nurullah Cakmak","doi":"10.1016/j.jup.2025.101928","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jup.2025.101928","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The increasing integration of variable renewable energy sources (VREs) introduces new complexities into the electricity markets. This paper investigates the effects of VREs on price dynamics by utilizing unplanned wind power plant outages as exogenous shocks. Using data from the Turkish electricity market from 2019 to 2023, we examine the short- and long-term impacts of VREs on price dynamics within wholesale electricity markets. Our findings reveal that unplanned outages significantly affect short-term market dynamics, while long-term effects remain limited. The results emphasize the necessity for enhanced grid flexibility, demand response strategies, and energy storage solutions to accommodate the growing share of VREs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23554,"journal":{"name":"Utilities Policy","volume":"95 ","pages":"Article 101928"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-03-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143705637","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Utilities PolicyPub Date : 2025-03-26DOI: 10.1016/j.jup.2025.101933
I. Milstein , A. Tishler , C.K. Woo
{"title":"Modeling the effects of photovoltaic technology, battery storage, and electric vehicles on Israel's electricity market from 2030 to 2050","authors":"I. Milstein , A. Tishler , C.K. Woo","doi":"10.1016/j.jup.2025.101933","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jup.2025.101933","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study assesses the economics of Israel's wholesale electricity market from 2030 to 2050 with rising market penetrations of photovoltaic (PV) technology, battery storage, and electric vehicles. The competing independent power producers (IPPs) employ PV generation <em>cum</em> battery storage (PVB) or natural gas (NG) to meet each day's hourly demands. Using two-stage models to determine the short-run market equilibrium of electricity generation and prices and the long-run market equilibrium mix of PV, NG, and battery capacities, we show that declining battery costs enable PVB IPPs to replace 100 % of the NG IPPs, leading to a carbon-free electricity supply.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23554,"journal":{"name":"Utilities Policy","volume":"95 ","pages":"Article 101933"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-03-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143705635","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Utilities PolicyPub Date : 2025-03-24DOI: 10.1016/j.jup.2025.101927
Agus Sanjaya, Bongju Jeong, Tianyuan Xu
{"title":"Power generation and transmission capacity expansion planning considering renewable energy and emissions policies in South Korea","authors":"Agus Sanjaya, Bongju Jeong, Tianyuan Xu","doi":"10.1016/j.jup.2025.101927","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jup.2025.101927","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The growth in energy consumption necessitates long-term power generation and transmission expansion planning. Given the government's goal of increasing the role of renewable energy and decreasing carbon emissions through renewable portfolio standards and carbon emissions trading policies, expansion planning considering the operational structure of these two policies should be applied. To that end, an optimization model was built and applied in South Korea. By solving the nominated optimization problem, the optimal power generation and transmission capacity plan, optimal transmission layout, RE ratio, and carbon emissions rate are determined as the model results. The integrated efficiency of renewable portfolio standards and the emissions trading scheme is revealed through extensive experiments.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23554,"journal":{"name":"Utilities Policy","volume":"95 ","pages":"Article 101927"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-03-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143683205","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Utilities PolicyPub Date : 2025-03-24DOI: 10.1016/j.jup.2025.101934
Mihaela Simionescu , Magdalena Radulescu
{"title":"Electricity prices, renewable energy, and sustainability of the energy and manufacturing sectors in the new EU member states","authors":"Mihaela Simionescu , Magdalena Radulescu","doi":"10.1016/j.jup.2025.101934","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jup.2025.101934","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper investigates the impact of renewable energy consumption, foreign direct investment (FDI), and electricity pricing on carbon dioxide (CO<sub>2</sub>) emissions in the energy supply and manufacturing sectors of Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries in the period 2007–2021. This study uses dynamic panel data models to examine the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) and the pollution haven and halo hypotheses to understand the sector-specific emission patterns and identify the factors that influence environmental sustainability. Most other studies do not consider a sectoral approach providing the same proposals for all sectors, while this paper provides original, sector-targeted policy recommendations to balance economic growth with EU climate goals, emphasizing renewable energy incentives and stringent FDI standards. The results reveal an N-shaped relationship between economic growth and CO<sub>2</sub> emissions in the energy sector and an inverted N-shaped relationship in the manufacturing sector, indicating distinct emission trajectories that warrant targeted policy responses. The empirical findings demonstrate that renewable energy consumption significantly reduces emissions in both sectors, substantially impacting the energy sector. Additionally, the U-shaped relationship between FDI and CO<sub>2</sub> emissions suggests that while FDI initially brings cleaner technologies (halo effect), it may later contribute to higher emissions under insufficient environmental regulations (haven effect). Higher electricity prices for non-household consumers are also found to effectively lower emissions, particularly in the energy sector, by encouraging energy-efficient practices.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23554,"journal":{"name":"Utilities Policy","volume":"95 ","pages":"Article 101934"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-03-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143683206","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Utilities PolicyPub Date : 2025-03-18DOI: 10.1016/j.jup.2025.101926
Darryl R. Biggar , Mohammad Reza Hesamzadeh
{"title":"The capacity market debate: What is the underlying market failure?","authors":"Darryl R. Biggar , Mohammad Reza Hesamzadeh","doi":"10.1016/j.jup.2025.101926","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jup.2025.101926","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Investment in liberalized wholesale electricity markets is typically not driven by spot and forward wholesale energy price signals alone. Instead, in most wholesale electricity markets there is a separate mechanism to procure, fund or subsidize investment in generation or demand response capacity. These mechanisms are known as capacity markets and are often highly controversial. There remains substantial debate over whether these mechanisms are necessary and, if so, how they should be designed. This paper provides a theoretical analysis of the capacity market debate. We observe that an intuitive understanding of the effects of capacity mechanisms may be misleading. While a capacity mechanism may offset the effects of a price cap, if the price cap is funded through a levy on consumption the combined effect of the tax and subsidy is to nullify the price cap. We explore possible reasons for under-investment concerns in wholesale electricity markets, focusing on the potential for a lack of liquidity in the hedge market arising from the presence of uninsurable risks. We identify three groups of uninsurable risks and propose policies to address them.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23554,"journal":{"name":"Utilities Policy","volume":"95 ","pages":"Article 101926"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-03-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143642898","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Utilities PolicyPub Date : 2025-03-15DOI: 10.1016/j.jup.2025.101901
Zhanna Kapsalyamova , Sandugash Juatova , Dina Azhgaliyeva , Taha B.M.J. Ouarda
{"title":"Measuring energy poverty by estimating the income elasticity of energy demand: An application to Kazakhstan","authors":"Zhanna Kapsalyamova , Sandugash Juatova , Dina Azhgaliyeva , Taha B.M.J. Ouarda","doi":"10.1016/j.jup.2025.101901","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jup.2025.101901","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study provides an alternative approach to measuring energy poverty by estimating the income elasticity of energy demand and identifying the income threshold for energy poverty. In the semiparametric model, the energy poverty income threshold is identified as the peak point on the income elasticity of the energy demand curve. The threshold regression model defines the income threshold for energy poverty endogenously. Applying these models to 2018–2021 household survey data from Kazakhstan, the study reveals that over 40% of surveyed households were energy poor during the studied period. The findings are robust to different specifications of the empirical model.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23554,"journal":{"name":"Utilities Policy","volume":"95 ","pages":"Article 101901"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143627949","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}