Electricity grid tariffs for electrification in households: Bridging the gap between cross-subsidies and fairness

Abstract

Developing new electricity grid tariffs in the context of household electrification raises old questions about who pays for what and to what extent. When electric vehicles (EVs) and heat pumps (HPs) are owned primarily by households with higher financial status than others, new tariff designs may clash with the economic argument for efficiency and the political arguments for fairness. This article combines tariff design and redistributive mechanisms to strike a balance between time-differentiated signals, revenue stability for the utility, limited grid costs for vulnerable households, and promoting electrification. We simulate the impacts of this combination on 1.4 million Danish households (about 50% of the country's population) and quantify the cross-subsidization effects between groups. With its unique level of detail, this study stresses the spillover effects of tariffs. We show that a subscription-heavy tariff associated with a ToU rate and a low redistribution factor tackles all the above goals.