Decentralized energy generation: The consumer’s perspective

Abstract

From the end of the XIXth century until the end of the XXth century, the production of electricity was mainly accomplished through centralized structures of production. This scenario has been changing as the adoption of decentralized models of generation, which count on the consumer to produce energy on his own, is growing. With this change, a new agent appears in the market of energy generation - the prosumer - whose relevance for the success of decentralization is widely recognized by public policies in this area, namely the ones coming from the European Union. What the authors seek to emphasize in this paper is that the recognition of such a status, and the creation of incentives for selfproduction, should be accompanied by the incorporation of behavioral aspects of the prosumer in such policies, namely concerning friction costs, complexity and bounded rationality.