Electricity networks are undergoing a period of rapid change and transformation, with increased penetration levels of renewable-based distributed generation, and new influences on electricity end-use patterns from demand-manageable loads and micro-generation. This creates a number of new challenges for the delivery of a reliable supply of electrical energy. The main aim of this PhD research is to provide a methodology for a more detailed and accurate assessment of the effects of wind-based distributed generation (DG) and demand side management (DSM) on transmission network operation. In addition, the work investigates the potential for co-ordinated implementation and control of DG and DSM to improve overall system performance. A significant amount of previous literature on network integration of DG and DSM resources has focused on the effects at the distribution level, where their impact is direct and often easily observed. However, as penetration levels increase, DG and DSM will have a growing influence on the operation and management of the bulk transmission system. Modelling and analysis of the impact of embedded and highly-dispersed DG and DSM resources at transmission voltage levels will present a significant challenge for transmission network operators in the future. Accordingly, this thesis presents a number of new approaches and methodologies allowing for a more accurate modelling and aggregation of DG and DSM resources in power system studies. The correct representation of input wind energy resources is essential for accurate estimation of power and energy outputs of wind-based DG. A novel modelling approach for a simple and accurate representation of the statistical and temporal characteristics of the wind energy resources is presented in the thesis. An "all-scale" approach to modelling and aggregation of wind-based generation is proposed, which is specifically intended for assessing the impact of embedded wind generation on the steady state performance of transmission systems. The methodology allows to include in the analysis wind-based generation at all scales and all levels of implementation, from micro and small LV-connected units, through medium-size wind plants connected at MV, up to large HV-connected wind farms. The thesis also presents an assessment of the potential for DSM in the UK residential and commercial sectors, based on the analysis and decomposition of measured demands at system bulk supply points into the corresponding load types. Using a section of the Scottish transmission network as a case study, a number of DG and DSM scenarios are investigated in detail. These results demonstrate the importance of accurately modelling the interactions between the supply system and various DG and DSM schemes, and show that the aggregated effects of highly-distributed DG and DSM resources can have significant impacts on the operation of the bulk transmission system.

Στην παρούσα διπλωματική εργασία θα ασχοληθούμε με την αξιολόγηση της προστασίας σε κατανεμημένη παραγωγή. Γενικά η κατανεμημένη παραγωγή, καλύπτει ένα μεγάλο εύρος νέων και παραδοσιακών τεχνολογιών με μικρές μονάδες εγκατεστημένες κοντά στην κατανάλωση και πιστεύεται ότι θα συμβάλει στην κάλυψη ενός μεγάλου μέρους της ενεργειακής ζήτησης στα επόμενα χρόνια με τη δυναμική της είσοδο στην απελευθερωμένη αγορά ενέργειας. Αρχικά γίνεται μια ανασκόπηση της υφιστάμενης παγκόσμιας ενεργειακής κατάστασης. Αναλύονται οι κυριότερες τεχνολογίες παραγωγής ηλεκτρικής ενέργειας και τα καύσιμα που χρησιμοποιούνται, τα οποία κατά συντριπτική πλειοψηφία βασίζονται στους ορυκτούς πόρους. Αποτυπώνεται αφενός, η συνολική συνεισφορά αυτών στην ενεργειακή ζήτηση, αφετέρου τα παγκόσμια αποθέματα αυτών. Στη συνέχεια παρουσιάζεται η υφιστάμενη κατάσταση στον ηλεκτρικό τομέα, οι αλλαγές που συνεπάγονται με τη απελευθέρωση της αγοράς ενέργειας, καθώς και το γενικό πλαίσιο και οι ρυθμίσεις που διέπουν τον τομέα της ενέργειας με βάση τα νέα δεδομένα. Γίνεται εισαγωγή και ορισμός της κατανεμημένης παραγωγής και αναλύονται τα βασικά χαρακτηριστικά που συνθέτουν την έννοια αυτής καθώς επίσης γίνεται μια παρουσίαση των κυριότερων τεχνολογιών που ολοκληρώνουν τη κατανεμημένη παραγωγή. Στη συνέχεια ασχολούμαστε με το φαινόμενο της νησιδοποίησης. Η αύξηση της παραγωγής ισχύος από διανεμημένους παραγωγούς καθιστά την εμφάνιση του φαινομένου όλο και συχνότερη. Η ανίχνευση και διακοπή του φαινομένου είναι καθοριστικής σημασίας για την ορθή λειτουργία του Δικτύου και την ασφάλεια του προσωπικού που εργάζεται σε αυτό. Εδώ περιγράφουμε μερικές από τις πιο βασικές εφαρμοζόμενες μεθόδους ανίχνευσης και διακοπής του. Ύστερα παρουσιάζουμε τα βασικά χαρακτηριστικά των μέσων προστασίας έναντι υπερεντάσεων. Προχωράμε σε μελέτη των διατάξεων προστασίας ενός παραδείγματος μιας εγκατάστασης φωτοβολταϊκών με σκοπό τη διασφάλιση της σε περίπτωση εμφάνισης σφαλμάτων. Τέλος αναφερόμαστε σε κάποιες νέες προσεγγίσεις και μελλοντικές τάσεις και προοπτικές για τον καθορισμό των τρόπων ενσωμάτωσης ομαλών τεχνολογιών ΚΠ και τη ρύθμιση θεμάτων σχετικά με τη διασύνδεση και τη λειτουργία τους. / In this work we will do a research about the appraisal of the distributed generation .All in all the distributed generation encloses a great range of new and traditional technologies. Some of them are installed close to the consumption and it is believed that the distributed generation will contribute to cover a great part of the energy demand in the next years. In the beginning we refer to the global energy situation. We analyze the most important technologies of distributed generation and the fuels that are used which are based on the mineral resources. These fuels contribute in the energy demand and we also refer to the global store of fuel. We present the situation of the electric section today, the changes and the regulations that happen in this section day by day. What is more, it is given the meaning of the “distributed generation”, we analyze the basic characteristics of it and we present the most important technologies that complete the distributed generation. Furthermore we refer to the problem of islanding. Because of the fact that the power production is increasing lately, the problem is appeared more and more often. We must look for this phenomenon and stop it immediately in order the network work correctly and the persons who work in this part of network be safe. We describe some of the most important methods of “tracking” the islanding and stopping it. Afterwards we present the basic characteristics of the protection arrangement that we must use in case of errors and short circuits. We continue presenting an instance for a photovoltaic system installation and what sort of protection must be used in order this system to work with safe when errors happen. In the end we refer to what must be done in the future so that the technologies of distributed generation be used more and more often and much more efficiently.

Interest has been growing in the interaction of various power demand transformations, such as demand side management (DSM) and voltage control, with the power demand. Initial studies have highlighted the need for a better understanding of the power demand of low voltage (LV) residential networks. Furthermore, it is expected that future alteration of the residential appliance mixture, because of the advances in technology, will have an impact on both the demand curve as well as the electrical characteristics. This thesis presents a study of the impact of current and future household load on the power demand curve and the network operation. In order to achieve this, a bottom-up load modelling tool was developed to create LV detailed demand profiles that include not only the active and reactive power demand, but their electrical characteristics as well. The methodology uses a Markov chain Monte Carlo approach to generate residential LV demand profiles taking into account the user activity and behaviour to represent UK population. An appliance database has also been created which corresponds to the UK residential appliance mixture in order to calculate more accurately the power demand. The main advantages of the approach presented here are the flexibility in altering the type and number of the appliances that populate a household and how easily it can be adapted to a different population, location and climate. The tool is used to investigate the impact of scenarios that simulate future load replacement and the network behaviour under certain methods of demand control, implementation of DSM and control of voltage on the secondary of the LV transformer. The algorithm that was developed to apply the DSM actions on the power demand focused on the management of individual loads. The drivers used in this approach were the financial and environmental benefit of customers and the increase in the quality of the network operation. The control of the voltage as a method for power reduction takes into account the voltage dependence of the demand. The primary target is to quantify the benefits of this strategy either in combination with DSM for higher power reduction during the peak hours or on the current network as a quicker, easier and less expensive alternative to DSM. The study shows that there is a significant power reduction in both cases which is dependent on the time of day and not constant as expected from the literature. The results show that there are significant differences between current and future load demand characteristics that would be very difficult to acquire without the modelling technique presented. The alternative solution would require extensive local load and network modifications and a long period of expensive tests and measurements in the field.

This research focuses on frequency control ancillary services in large interconnected systems. It analyses and assesses possible alternatives for optimal and innovative solutions of major frequency control issues in large interconnected systems within liberalised electricity markets. Possible improvements in the performance of frequency control are identified. A framework of frequency control ancillary services in large interconnected systems by including loads and wind generation is also proposed.The research has been motivated by the paucity of research in power system dynamics focusing on large interconnected systems such as the European synchronous system and the Eastern interconnection which experience important frequency control challenges. These challenges include:- Decline in frequency response in the Eastern interconnection - Deterministic frequency deviations observed at the top of the hours in the European synchronous systemFrequency control issues became critical when electricity markets were deregulated and frequency control became an ancillary service with a decidedly commercial focus. This commercial focus has spawned a lot of work on frequency control markets and economics whereas not much research has been devoted to dynamic simulation of large interconnected systems. Apart from this commercial focus, frequency control in large interconnected systems is still based on historical practices mainly because changes suggested in the literature can be barely applied in large interconnected systems. This is essentially because dynamic simulation studies are uncorrelated with frequency control markets and economics. More specifically, dynamic studies do not take into account the characteristics of each reserve activated and also the way the reserve is activated. With the deregulation of the electricity market, reserve is considered as a product and not necessarily a response provided by a unit. The main objectives of this research therefore are to solve critical frequency control issues in large interconnected deregulated electricity systems, which may present potential economic benefits. To achieve these objectives, frequency control in large interconnected systems is studied by considering on one hand frequency control theory and on the other hand its implementation in practice taking account of frequency control ancillary service markets as well as the economics and practical consequences of frequency control. This approach is necessary to accommodate the future evolution of frequency control in large interconnected systems. The proposed approach is illustrated through a model of frequency control in the European synchronous system, where practices are better known, are clearly standardised and also where frequency data has been obtained.

How has the Indian state changed with economic liberalization? While many scholars have explored the altered party politics and class basis of the liberalization-era state, few have studied its transforming internal organizational forms and functioning. This thesis aims to provide an empirically grounded answer to this question. To do this it uses the lens of electricity: the sector lies at the heart of contemporary capital accumulation, state power, and distributive politics, and has witnessed almost a quarter-century of institutional reforms since 1991. In the sector, new or reworked organizational forms—such as imported regulatory agencies, corporatized state-owned enterprises, and public-private partnerships—have been grafted onto the older statist system in a process of institutional layering. Favouring state-business collaboration and prioritizing rapid economic growth, this mode of state operation is distinct both from a liberal, market-oriented state and from India’s older state-led mode. It combines state intervention and selective adoption of parts of the Washington Consensus template to produce a reinvented mode of power governance that I term state capitalism 2.0. India’s new state-market hybrid is not a functional alternative to the older models, however. The layered process through which it has emerged means that it is distinctively dysfunctional. Organizations have emerged in an ad hoc fashion, each shaped and reshaped by multiple collective interests, while existing organizations are rarely destroyed. The resulting layered amalgam institutionalizes contradictory state strategies, co-optation by competing interest groups, and a dualistic system of services and subsidies. Consequently the sector’s performance remains poor. As a result, developments in the Indian power sector suggest that the state's 'pro-business' transition has been painful and incomplete. At least in this sector, the Indian state remains simultaneously more indispensable, more ambivalently pro-business, and more chaotic than much theory might suggest.

Legally binding targets set by the UK government to reduce carbon emissions by 2050 mean it is imperative that the efficiency of the UK housing stock is improved. Housing currently contributes over 30% of the UK s total carbon emissions and a large proportion of the current stock will still exist in 2050. There is therefore a need to retrofit this existing stock with energy saving measures, as the savings from new builds will not be adequate to meet the stringent carbon reduction targets. Whilst technologies to facilitate energy saving retrofit are available, there has been a low uptake from householders in the UK, in part due to the lack of consideration of user requirements within the design of these technologies. To investigate this issue further, this thesis considers two main questions: How can the design of energy saving measures and the process of retrofit of the existing UK housing stock be improved through the use of user centred design (UCD) and How can UCD methods be applied to the research and development process for energy saving measures in order to improve the outcome? Through the research, it became clear that in order to answer these questions, it would be necessary to work across disciplines and therefore a third Research Question was posed; How can UCD facilitate working across disciplines in the context of an energy research project? The results provide evidence of how UCD can effectively improve the design and development process of energy saving technologies, the process of retrofit and the practice of cross-disciplinary working within a research environment. The research is novel in several ways: firstly, the UCD process has been applied in the area of domestic retrofit, giving new insights into the barriers and opportunities to retrofit; secondly, home improvement has been investigated by viewing the home as a complete, interacting system, using novel methods; thirdly, a set of UCD specifications have been created to inform the design of heat pumps, a specific domestic energy saving technology, and finally, enhancements to the UCD process are made for use within an energy technology project, together with the development of six principles for effective cross-disciplinary working and conceptualisation of the bridge building role which the UCD practitioner fulfills.

Suite aux réformes des marchés électriques, la question du market design, c’est-à-dire l’étude des nouveaux marchés destinés à remplacer l’ancien monopole, est devenue centrale dans la littérature économique. Toutefois, les caractéristiques techniques de l’électricité rendent cette tâche complexe et l’intervention des pouvoirs publics est souvent nécessaire pour établir les règles du jeu efficaces que les acteurs de marché devront suivre. Cela explique pourquoi le market design demeure un sujet d’actualité. Cette thèse contribue aux discussions actuelles en étudiant plusieurs architectures de marché à mettre en place afin d’assurer la fiabilité du système électrique de la façon la plus efficace.La fiabilité est d’abord étudiée sous sa dimension de court terme, appelée sûreté. Pour garantir un équilibre en temps réel, l’opérateur du système doit s’assurer de disposer d’un niveau suffisant de réserves: c’est l’objectif du modèle de sûreté. Dans cette thèse, les impacts économiques induits par un changement de modèle de sureté pour le système électrique français sont évalués. Une modélisation de type Agent-Based est développée pour simuler les décisions des acteurs sur plusieurs marchés de court terme. Les résultats montrent que le modèle de sureté français actuel conduit à des coûts inférieurs à ceux du modèle alternatif mis en œuvre dans d’autres pays européens. Le maintien du modèle actuel en France apparait donc justifié.La dimension long terme de la fiabilité, à savoir l’adéquation, est ensuite étudiée. Les performances économiques d’un marché de capacité et d’un mécanisme de réserve stratégique, deux solutions conçues pour résoudre le problème d’adéquation, sont comparées. Afin de considérer la nature cyclique des investissements, ces mécanismes sont étudiés d’un point de vue dynamique par l’intermédiaire d’une modélisation de type System Dynamics. Celle-ci simule les décisions d'investissements et de fermetures prises par les acteurs de marché, en considérant leurs comportements imparfaits. Les principaux résultats montrent que le marché de capacité résout la question de l'adéquation à un coût moindre. / Following power market reforms, market design, i.e. the study of new markets to replace efficiently the previous monopoly, becomes central in the economic literature. However, due to several technical characteristics of electricity, this task is complex. A third party is then required to help design these markets in an efficient way and to set the rules under which private decentralized market players will interact. This complexity explains why market design remains a work in progress. This thesis contributes to the current discussions by giving insights on the most efficient market designs to implement to ensure the reliability of power systems.A first focus is made on the short-term dimension of reliability, i.e. the security of power systems. To maintain a balanced system, the system operator has to ensure the availability of a sufficient level of reserves in real time: this is the aim of the security model. In this thesis, a quantitative assessment of the economic impacts that a transition to a different security model would have for the French power system is carried out. An agent-based modelling is developed to simulate the decisions of profit-maximizing players on several short-term markets. Simulations show that the current French security model results in lower costs than the alternative one implemented in several European countries, and should therefore be maintained for the French power system.A second focus is made on the long-term dimension of reliability, i.e. the adequacy. The economic performances of a capacity market and a strategic reserve mechanism, two mechanisms designed to solve the adequacy issue, are compared. In order to capture the cyclical nature of investments, these mechanisms are studied from a dynamic point of view. To this end, a long-term model is developed based on a System Dynamics approach. It simulates the investment and shutdown decisions made by market players considering their imperfect behaviours. Main results show that the capacity market solves the adequacy issue at a lower cost than the strategic reserve mechanism.

Η παρούσα εργασία πραγματεύεται το πρόβλημα της συγκριτικής αξιολόγησης των Μονάδων Διανομής της ΔΕΗ, και ειδικότερα των 14 Περιοχών της Διεύθυνσης Περιφέρειας Πελοποννήσου – Ηπείρου, με τη βοήθεια της μεθόδου περιβάλλουσας ανάλυσης δεδομένων, της DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis). Οι εξεταζόμενες Περιοχές είναι: Αγρίνιο, Αίγιο, Άρτα, Ζάκυνθος, Ιωάννινα, Καλαμάτα, Κέρκυρα, Κεφαλονιά, Κόρινθος, Ναύπλιο, Πάτρα, Πύργος, Σπάρτη και Τρίπολη. Η ΔΕΗ είναι η μοναδική εταιρεία διανομής ηλεκτρικής ενέργειας στη χώρα, η οποία έχει στην ιδιοκτησία της το δίκτυο διανομής και είναι υπεύθυνη για τη διανομή της ηλεκτρικής ενέργειας σε όλη την ελληνική επικράτεια. Η κάθε Περιοχή αποτελεί καταρχήν ανεξάρτητη οικονομική – διοικητική μονάδα, η οποία έχει αποστολή την ανάπτυξη, την συντήρηση και την λειτουργία του Δικτύου του γεωγραφικού χώρου ευθύνης της, καθώς και την παροχή πρόσβασης σ’ αυτό προς όλους του δικαιούμενους, σύμφωνα με τις σχετικές διατάξεις του Κώδικα Διαχείρισης Δικτύου. Η επίτευξη της αποστολής αυτής θα πρέπει να γίνεται με την καλύτερη δυνατή διαχείριση και αξιοποίηση των πόρων που διαθέτει η κάθε Περιοχή. Ως εισροές για κάθε Περιοχή είναι η εργασία (αριθμός των μισθωτών), ο κύριος εξοπλισμός (δίκτυα διανομής και μετασχηματιστές διανομής) και τα λειτουργικά έξοδα (ελέγξιμες δαπάνες εκμετάλλευσης). Ο Κώδικας Διαχείρισης Δικτύου δίνει ιδιαίτερη σημασία στην ποιότητα της παρεχόμενης ενέργειας και εξυπηρέτησης προς τους πελάτες. Για τον λόγο αυτό, υιοθετούνται επίσης ως εισροές, αντιπροσωπευτικά τους μεγέθη όπως: αριθμός βλαβών στο δίκτυο διανομής και χρόνος αποκατάστασης αυτών, καθώς και χρόνοι παροχών (μελέτη & κατασκευή). Ως εκροές, για μια Περιοχή Διανομής είναι ο αριθμός των πελατών (Χαμηλής Τάσης και Μέσης Τάσης), και η αντίστοιχη πωληθήσα ηλεκτρική ενέργεια. Η σχετική αποδοτικότητα των Περιοχών υπολογίσθηκε με βάση την δυνατότητά τους να μειώσουν τις εισροές με δεδομένα τα υφιστάμενα επίπεδα εκροών (προσανατολισμός στην εισροή). Τα δεδομένα που χρησιμοποιήθηκαν αφορούν στοιχεία για το έτος 2007. Χρησιμοποιήθηκε το λογισμικό Warwick DEA Software, (Warwick Business School, Warwick University, UK). Επίσης υπολογίσθηκαν οι συντελεστές συσχέτισης Pearson και Kendall, προκειμένου να εξεταστεί η ύπαρξη πιθανών συσχετίσεων μεταξύ των δεικτών αποδοτικότητας που προκύπτουν από την εφαρμογή της μεθόδου DEA και των απλών δεικτών αποδοτικότητας, ορισμένοι από τους οποίους χρησιμοποιούνται από τη ΔΕΗ, εκτιμούν όμως μεμονωμένους μόνο παράγοντες των Μονάδων. Από την ανάλυση των δεδομένων προέκυψαν τα ακόλουθα, (τα οποία δεν υιοθετούνται απαραίτητα από την ΔΕΗ): • Γενικά η αποδοτικότητα των Περιοχών είναι σχετικά υψηλή (>80%), πλην μιας Περιοχής. • Ο κύριος εξοπλισμός των Περιοχών (δίκτυο διανομής και μετασχηματιστές διανομής) και οι υπηρεσίες που προσφέρουν στους πελάτες τους (αριθμός πελατών και πωληθήσα ηλεκτρική ενέργεια) αποτελούν καθοριστικούς παράγοντες για την καταρχήν κατάταξή τους με βάση την τεχνική τους αποδοτικότητα. • Λαμβάνοντας όμως υπόψη στη μελέτη και άλλα κριτήρια, όπως οι ελέγξιμες δαπάνες, η ποιότητα της παρεχόμενης ενέργειας και η ποιότητα των παρεχόμενων υπηρεσιών, προκύπτει διαφοροποίηση στην αρχική κατάταξη των μη αποδοτικών Περιοχών, οι οποίες εν γένει βελτιώνουν την αποδοτικότητά τους, εκτός από τρεις περιοχές, οι οποίες παραμένουν στάσιμες. • Εξετάζοντας την αποδοτικότητα κλίμακας (σύγκριση της τεχνικής αποδοτικότητας κάθε Περιοχής, υπό κλίμακα σταθερών και μεταβλητών αποδόσεων), προκύπτει ότι υπάρχει επίπτωση του μεγέθους της κλίμακας στην παραγωγικότητα της αποτιμώμενης Περιοχής σε 6 Περιοχές, (αποδοτικότητα κλίμακας < 1). • Ορισμένοι από τους απλούς δείκτες αποδοτικότητας, οι οποίοι χρησιμοποιούνται και από τη ΔΕΗ, έχουν σημαντική συσχέτιση με τους δείκτες αποδοτικότητας που προκύπτουν από την εφαρμογή της μεθόδου DEA και μπορούν να εξηγήσουν την βαρύτητα ορισμένων παραγόντων στην διαμόρφωση της τεχνικής αποδοτικότητας των Μονάδων. Δεν παύουν όμως αυτοί οι απλοί δείκτες να εκτιμούν μεμονωμένους μόνο παράγοντες των Μονάδων, χωρίς να μπορούν να εκτιμήσουν την συνολική τεχνική αποδοτικότητα, όπως κάνει η μεθοδολογία DEA. • Η μέθοδος DEA μπορεί να αποτελέσει ένα βασικό και χρήσιμο εργαλείο πληροφόρησης και κατεύθυνσης για την ιεραρχία των Περιοχών, χωρίς όμως απαραίτητα να αποτελεί πανάκεια για τη λήψη αποφάσεων, αφήνοντας κατ’ αυτό τον τρόπο περιθώρια πρωτοβουλιών στη διοίκηση των Μονάδων. Η μέθοδος DEA συμβάλλει επίσης στην ανάπτυξη ενός εσωτερικού ανταγωνισμού μεταξύ των Μονάδων Διανομής. Περαιτέρω έρευνα με την εφαρμογή της μεθόδου σε δεδομένα περισσότερων ετών (π.χ. πενταετία), θα οδηγούσε σε ποιο ασφαλή και αξιόπιστα αποτελέσματα, λαμβάνοντας υπόψη κατ’ αυτό τον τρόπο και την εξέλιξη – πορεία των Περιοχών στο χρόνο. Η έρευνα θα μπορούσε επίσης να εφαρμοστεί για όλες της Περιοχές της Διανομής (59 Περιοχές) και να προκύψουν συγκριτικά αποτελέσματα για τις 5 Περιφερειακές Διευθύνσεις της Γενικής Διεύθυνσης Διανομής. / The present thesis deals with the problem of comparative evaluation of Distribution Districts of Power Public Corporation (PPC), and more specifically the 14 Districts of Peloponnese – Epirus Region Department, with the use of DEA (Data Envelopment of Analysis). The examined Districts are: Aegio, Agrinio, Arta, Corfu, Ioannina, Kalamata, Kefalonia, Korinthos, Nauplio, Patras, Pyrgos, Sparti, Tripoli and Zakynthos. PPC is the only company of electric energy distribution in the country, which is the ownership of the distribution network. Every District constitutes an independent economic–administrative unit, which has the mission of development, operation and maintenance of its network. It is also responsible to assure the access to the network of the beneficiaries (consumers & producers), according to the Distribution Network Operation Code. As inputs for each District are the work (personnel), the main equipment (distribution network and distribution transformers) and the functional expenses (controllable expenses). The Distribution Network Operation Code gives particular importance in the quality of provided energy and service to the customers. For this reason, they are adopted also as inputs: the number of network interruptions and the duration of interruptions, as well as the connection time to the network (study and construction). As outputs for each District are the number of customers (Low Voltage and Medium Voltage) and the supplied energy. The relative efficiency of Districts was calculated based on their possibility to decrease their inputs keeping their outputs constant (input orientation). The data that were used concern the year 2007. The Warwick DEA Software used for the calculations (Warwick Business School, Warwick University, UK). The Pearson and Kendall correlation coefficient were also calculated and the DEA technical efficiencies were compared with simple indices of efficiency, which PPC uses. From the analysis of data resulted following, (that are not necessarily adopted by PPC): • Generally the Districts efficiency is relatively high (> 80%), except one District. • The main equipment of Districts (distribution network and distribution transformers) and the offered services to their customers (number of customers and supplied energy) constitute decisive factors for their initial classification based on their technical efficiency. • Taking into consideration more criteria, as the controllable expenses, the quality of provided energy and the quality of provided services, result differentiation in the initial classification of not efficient Districts, what in general improve their efficiency, apart from three Districts, what remain stagnant. • Examining the scale efficiency (comparison of technical efficiency of each District, under variable and constant returns to scale), it results that exists effect of scale size in the productivity of 6 Districts, (scale efficiency < 1). • Some of simple indices of efficiency, which are also used by PPC, have important correlation with the DEA efficiencies and may explain the importance of some factors in the configuration of technical efficiency of Districts. However these simple indices continue to estimate only individual factors of Districts and not the total technical efficiency, as DEA does. • DEA can be a basic and useful tool of information and direction for the Districts Directors, without however be panacea for the decision-making, leaving in this way margins of initiatives in the Districts administration. DEA also contributes to the promotion of internal competition between the Distribution Districts.

The ability for domestic consumers to provide demand response to dynamic electricity pricing will become increasingly valuable for integrating the high penetrations of renewables that are expected to be connected to electricity networks in the future. The aim of this thesis is to investigate whether domestic consumers will be willing and able to provide demand response in such low-carbon futures. A broad approach is presented in this thesis, with research contributions on subjects including data privacy, behavioural economics, and battery modelling. The principle argument of the thesis is that studying the behaviour of consumers with grid-connected photovoltaic ('PV') systems can provide insight into how consumers might respond to dynamic pricing in future low-carbon power systems, as both experience irregular electricity prices that are correlated with intermittent renewable generation. Through a combination of statistical and qualitative methods, this thesis investigates the demand response behaviour of consumers with PV systems in the UK. The results demonstrate that these consumers exhibit demand response behaviour by increasing demand during the day and decreasing demand during the evening. Furthermore, this effect is more pronounced on days with higher irradiance. The results are novel in three ways. First, they provide quantified evidence that suggests that domestic consumers with PV systems engage in demand response behaviour. Second, they provide evidence of domestic consumers responding to irregular electricity prices that are correlated with intermittent renewable generation, thereby addressing the aim of this thesis, and supporting the assumption that consumers can be expected to respond to dynamic pricing in future markets with high penetrations of renewables. Third, they provide evidence of domestic consumers responding to dynamic pricing that is similar to real-time pricing, while prior evidence of this is rare and confined to the USA.

This thesis is concerned with the mathematical analysis of electricity and carbon emission markets. We introduce a novel, versatile and tractable stochastic framework for the joint price formation of electricity spot prices and allowance certificates. In the proposed framework electricity and allowance prices are explained as functions of specific fundamental factors, such as the demand for electricity and the prices of the fuels used for its production. As a result, the proposed model very clearly captures the complex dependency of the modelled prices on the aforementioned fundamental factors. The allowance price is obtained as the solution to a coupled forward-backward stochastic differential equation. We provide a rigorous proof of the existence and uniqueness of a solution to this equation and analyse its behaviour using asymptotic techniques. The essence of the model for the electricity price is a carefully chosen and explicitly constructed function representing the supply curve in the electricity market. The model we propose accommodates most regulatory features that are commonly found in implementations of emissions trading systems and we analyse in detail the impact these features have on the prices of allowance certificates. Thereby we reveal a weakness in existing regulatory frameworks, which, in rare cases, can lead to allowance prices that do not conform with the conditions imposed by the regulator. We illustrate the applicability of our model to the pricing of derivative contracts, in particular clean spread options and numerically illustrate its ability to "see" relationships between the fundamental variables and the option contract, which are usually unobserved by other commonly used models in the literature. The results we obtain constitute flexible tools that help to efficiently evaluate the financial impact current or future implementations of emissions trading systems have on participants in these markets.