UPDATE: The webinar took place on 21 June 2019. The whole session is available here [in Spanish].
There are many opportunities presented by the new legislation RD244 / 2019 for businesses in the Spanish energy market. Creation of new financial products combining energy commercialization with self-consumption; increased demand for residential and industrial self-consumption facilities; increased volume of work around the maintenance, control and management of facilities …
However, there are administrative difficulties that slow down the processing and legalization of energy generation facilities, as well as technical difficulties that limit both the initial planning (or dimensioning) process and the efficient management and operation of the assets, that are already connected to the network.
At Pylon Network we develop software for the access and processing of energy data, which allows companies to access the consumption or production data of any customer within minutes and subsequently automate and / or manage processes related to this data.
Reductions in costs of human resources, decrease of the response time to end-customers and much higher precision for our services – taking into account the customer’s hourly load curve – are some of the competitive advantages we offer. (Examples: personalized and automatic self-consumption offers, tariff and power optimization reports, production management and performance of a photovoltaic solar plant.)
In this article we want to show you the opportunities, challenges and limitations that we are going to find in the newly introduced legislation (RD244/ 2019) and show you why access to data is the first step to succeed in this new ecosystem.
To deepen more in the opportunities, challenges and keys that the RD244 / 2019 presents, we invite you to attend our exclusive online Webinar, next June 20, at 11:00h (CET).
The participation is free and the panel will include Pep Salas from “SmartgridCat”; Sara Pizzinato from “Fundación Renovables”; Santiago Ochoa from “Cooperativa Goiener”; Laura Ojea from “El Periódico de la Energía”; Gerard Bel from “Pylon Network”.
Who is affected by RD224 / 2019?
RD244 / 2019 directly and indirectly affects all market players of the energy sector; the introduction of more diverse forms of self-consumption, both individual and shared, open a range of possibilities and opportunities that many actors can take advantage of:
Suppliers: Increase the margins of the sale of energy, gain loyalty with current customers and acquire new ones at a lower cost.
Producers / Investors: More profitable energy sales options, reduce investment return times.
Consumers: Reduce the cost of their bills by self-consuming energy collectively or individually.
Renewable Installers: Increase their sales and offer new products / specific services for collective self-consumption.
Challenges and limitations presented by RD244 / 2019
The new Royal Decree 244/2019 comes with multiple challenges and limitations that must be taken into account when developing and implementing new business models. Some of the most important are:
Administrative
– Lack of agility when processing and legalizing new facilities. For example, small installations (<10 kWp) should be easier to process, and the installer would have to be able to validate and authorize its connection in a simpler way.
– Self-consumption modalities are fixed for one year, limiting in some cases the total use of the facilities. A case of limitation may be a supply facility that only self-consumes during winter months and would like to change the grid injection restrictions during the summer months – thus, offering the installation a better performance, while incentivizing the locality of production/consumption. Therefore, these modalities should be able to be modified within shorter periods of time, for example, within a one-month’s notice.
– The change of ownership of the self-consumption facilities must be very easy to carry out, since otherwise it will generate a barrier to entry for final consumers. Surely, due to the long useful life of the facilities, around 30 years, the owners of a collective self-consumption facility will vary and therefore there must be standardized contracts that allow an agile and simple change of owner.
Technical / Operational
– Rapid and agile access to consumer data (peak power and hourly energy consumption) is still a barrier for companies that rely on it, and limits the quality of the services they offer. A simple and equal access for all stakeholders will create the competitiveness that the sector (and the energy transition) requires.
– It is very important to optimize the capacity power and contracted tariffs of the users (consumers) before offering them any self-consumption installation (i.e. efficiency first). Therefore tools must be developed that help the client throughout all his journey, thus offering confidence and transparency from the first moment.
– The dimensioning of a self-consumption installation, both individual and collective, must be specific for the consumption needs of customers. In addition, in order for the user to have a positive experience, she should not have to worry about anything else, other than the use of her own electricity (and the savings it can offer). This dimensioning is fundamental to avoid having a dimensioning/planning error. And this needed accuracy cannot be achieved from filling out a form that asks you simply what is your monthly expenditure in euros of the electricity bill, and in what period of the day you consume “most of your energy”.
– Calculations of fixed vs. dynamic energy distribution coefficients. Being able to dynamically adjust (hour by hour) these energy distribution coefficients will optimize the use of the facility to the maximum, directly benefiting all the participants of collective self-consumption, hence shortening investment returns.
Economic
– Reduce the cost of attracting customers both for retailers and for renewable installation companies.
– Creation of attractive and profitable business models where multiple agents interact (producers / consumers / marketers …). In that way, they can improve sales margins of energy in marketing, combining self-consumption and purchase of energy grid.
Why is access to energy data the key in this new ecosystem?
To create an ecosystem where there are different models of energy exchange between energy communities, where the installation of renewables is encouraged, where multiple agents interact, a rapid, transparent and easily accessible communication and data exchange infrastructure will be necessary. In Pylon Network we see key access to energy data for:
Streamline of communication (inter-operability) among the actors, enabling the creation of new business models where multiple agents intervene.
Create a more transparent and competitive environment, where all actors (marketers, distributors, installers, energy services companies …) can access consumer data on equal terms and therefore compete on equal terms.
Enable the offer of specific services adapted to the needs of consumers / self-consumers based on their consumption data (CCH) and power peaks.
——————————–
To deepen more in the opportunities, challenges and keys that the RD244 / 2019 presents, we invite you to attend the exclusive online Webinar next June 20 at 11:00h (CET).
The attendance is free and the panel will include Pep Salas from “SmartgridCat”; Sara Pizzinato from “Fundación Renovables”; Santiago Ochoa from “Cooperativa Goiener”; Laura Ojea from “El Periódico de la Energía”; Gerard Bel from “Pylon Network”
Comments