Innovative energy sharing schemes in Portugal: a pilot project by E-REDES under a regulatory sandbox

Since 2019, Portugal has allowed energy sharing within the framework of collective self-consumption (CSC) and renewable energy communities (REC), prompting significant regulatory evolution in the following years. Initially, energy sharing in Portugal, which is managed by the Distribution System Operator (DSO), E-REDES, was done using one of two options: fixed sharing coefficients or proportional coefficients that are determined based on 15-minute consumption intervals of each member of the collective self-consumption or renewable energy community. As stated, in Portugal, the main aspects of energy sharing are handled by the DSO, leveraging on the expertise related to the comprehensive management of smart meter infrastructure and data and sharing energy data with all relevant parties, which are essential for facilitating transactions between market participants. Despite the initial regulatory framework providing only two energy sharing schemes—fixed and proportional—a need emerged for more innovative approaches that could enhance consumer benefits and encourage the adoption of self-consumption. The limited practical experience with energy sharing schemes, with the first implemented only in the latter half of 2022, led the national regulatory authority to establish a regulatory sandbox. This initiative allowed E-REDES to propose a pilot project to test two alternative energy sharing schemes: dynamic and hierarchical. The pilot project, approved by the regulator at the end of 2022, involved developing and testing these new methodologies by E-REDES. This paper details the pilot project's scope, including the methods defined, the participant engagement, and preliminary results. The focus is on assessing the potential of these innovative schemes to provide added value to consumers and to further incentivize the shift towards self-consumption, marking a significant step in the evolution of energy sharing practices in Portugal.