Abstract

The electricity grid is undergoing an extensive transition phase, largely driven by the
electrification of society, an increasing share of renewable energy generation, and a
transmission grid in need of renewal. One way to achieve an increased system capacity and
more efficient grid utilization is through demand response, by giving customers incentives such as price signals to perform consumption modifications as a way of balancing system load. This thesis identifies the technical potential of demand flexibility of small and medium-sized companies through analysis of consumption patterns. The objective of the study was to
understand how different load profiles contribute to system peak loads, their potential to adjust consumption during peak hours, and how the theoretical flexibility potential could be related to adequate load shaping methods from a system load objective. The results illustrated that the clusters with a high peak load contribution largely contribute to constraint in the electricity system. However, if the clusters also display a variable load profile through a high peak-to-average-ratio they attain a higher flexibility potential. Out of the two clusters that portrayed these characteristics, one also had a small time gap between cluster peak demand and system peaks, indicating a large potential for using peak clipping and load shifting as load shaping methods. The most common industry classifications in this cluster were restaurant activities and real estate activities. For a cluster with a larger time gap a focus on strategic conservation is more suitable. The same measures apply to clusters with a high peak load contribution with more even load profiles, while clusters with a small peak load contribution are less relevant for measures from a system load objective. Customer characteristics and their possibilities to realise the technical potential of flexibility can be investigated further to develop more precise business models to contribute to a more efficient grid utilization.