Decarbonizing the Global Electricity Sector through Demand-Side Management: A Systematic Critical Review of Policy Responses

Abstract

This paper provides an up-to-date and comprehensive systematic literature review (SLR) of the existing research on long-term electricity decarbonization which is dominated by the global scenarios of Integrated Assessment Models. The aim is to synthesize and extend current understanding on the existing supply-side solutions and demand-side technological options despite the broader range of co-benefits and the latter's lesser risk. We achieve this by adopting a two-step systematic literature review approach to analyse and review SLR datasets consisting of 103 empirical studies conducted in Asia, Europe, and North America countries in economics and environmental economics from 1994 to 2018 and published in Web of Science and Scopus indexed journals. We find that demand-side policy studies are predominantly carried out in Asia, Europe, and North America. The US contributes more than one-quarter of the studies reviewed, most of which were published after US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement. Three types of Demand-Side Management (DSM) are identified namely energy efficiency, energy conservation, and demand response policies. The corresponding policy instruments can be categorised into six basic categories. We further found that these instruments are not always implemented for emissions reduction. In addition, energy-saving is found to be the reason for DSM implementation. The findings suggest that demand-side solutions through policies need to be fully exploited to achieve carbon emission targets from the electricity sector or energy sector in general.

Determinants of Sustainable Energy Saving Behavior among University Students in Malaysia: A Case Study of Management & Science University (MSU)

“…Energy-saving behaviors are essential for achieving environmental sustainability, as they can help reduce energy consumption and mitigate the effects of climate change (Kasavan et al, 2021;Said et al, 2022). Various research has examined the factors that affect individual energy-conservation actions in different settings, such as households, workplaces, and universities.…”

A Review on the Applications of PSO-Based Algorithm in Demand Side Management: Challenges and Opportunities

“…DSM is the practice of planning, installation, and monitoring by the electricity utility that can impact energy use by changing the consumption patterns of consumers to achieve the necessary changes in load shape. DSM aims to flatten the load profile by encouraging consumers to reduce the demand in peak hours or transfer the demand from peak to off-peak hours and preferably follow the generation pattern [8]. The main categories for DSM activities are demand response (DR) and energy efficiency (EE), as shown in Fig.…”

“…1. The demand-side solutions provide maximum benefits and are integrated with lesser risk compared to supply-side options [8], as they are potentially improving the network load pattern [9], lowering air pollution [10], reducing emission [11] and healthcare cost [12] due to its positive environmental impact. Therefore, the sustainable energy transition required a momentous effort from various scales, such as government, industry, and academia.…”

Modelling Malaysia’s energy transition pathways: the role of renewable energy policy measures

“…As a result, no sector is more important to the economy than power. However, given the current population and economic growth rate, the rapidly rising demand for power [14] and the growing proportion of coal-fueled power in the energy mix raises grave concern [15].…”