Designing and Evaluating Energy Product-Service Systems for Energy Sector (EPSS) in Liberalized Energy Market: A Case Study in Space Heating Services for Japan Household

Abstract

This paper introduces Energy-Product-Service Systems (EPSS) to overcome the issues in the liberalized energy market. Currently, conventional energy services are highly commoditized, thus eroding their competitiveness in a liberalized energy market. In addition, customer benefits from the current system are hard to analyse, because it is difficult for customers to observe the quality of the results of energy consumption. EPSS incorporates energy sector with other related sectors to design and deliver immediate result of energy usage that suit to customer’s specific needs is expected to provide better performance than current system. However, EPSS service design and implementation involve high risk and performance uncertainties. Therefore, this study proposes a method to design and to evaluate EPSS and compare its performances with energy product/service performance in current system through Simulation-Based Design (SBD). SBD is used to construct EPSS service considering stakeholders’ interest and to evaluate the service performance, by simulating alternative scenarios in order to seek conditions that are expected to fulfil stakeholders’ requirements. In the proposed analysis, three service features, that is, service consumption management, operational system design and electricity supply management are introduced and used to develop EPSS alternative design for space-heating service. Afterwards, customer satisfaction and the company’s benefit for each service scenarios are simulated and compared with the performance of the current system. In this context, EPSS design that includes operational system design and electricity supply management results in better benefit for all stakeholders.

Investigating Preconditions for Sustainable Renewable Energy Product–Service Systems in Retail Electricity Markets

“…This study suggests Energy Product-Service Systems (EPSS) for sustainable renewable energy markets. EPSS were first introduced by the authors of the present study [3], aiming for their application in a liberalized energy market. EPSS are defined as a "system" that delivers electricity service performance using energy, products and operations of dwellings by incorporating the basic functional systems for a household [3].…”

“…EPSS were first introduced by the authors of the present study [3], aiming for their application in a liberalized energy market. EPSS are defined as a "system" that delivers electricity service performance using energy, products and operations of dwellings by incorporating the basic functional systems for a household [3]. The underlying motivation of EPSS introduction is the realization that energy is a form of "derived demand", where end-users' needs represent a certain performance level of energy-provided service, rather than energy itself.…”

“…Energy Product-Service Systems (EPSS) with renewable energy (Re-EPSS) are evaluated as an alternative sustainable renewable market mechanism in this study. EPSS aim to improve resource efficiency, while maintaining benefits for society by providing electricity service performance using energy, products and operation of dwellings for a household [3]. Service provision releases consumers from the requirement to purchase electrical appliances to satisfy their needs.…”