d. Connection to the grid
The proliferation of prosumption has increased the possibility for market players to reduce their reliance on the electricity grid. The combination of own generation and storage capacity even makes it possible for players to go off-grid altogether. Some sources see interaction with the electricity market as an essential part of the prosumer definition.(1) Josh Roberts, Prosumer rights: options for a legal framework post-2020 (ClientEarth 2016), 6 We need to clarify whether actors with either a reduced or no connection to the grid can still be considered prosumers or whether, by definition, prosumers are connected to the electricity grid and interact with it.
In the first option, the prosumer remains connected to the grid, but relies less on electricity from the grid to fulfill its electricity needs. This can result in an almost off-grid scenario, where a prosumer is in principle self-sufficient, only using the grid to match exceptional changes in supply or demand. Since these people remain connected to the grid, albeit marginally, they are definitely covered by the prosumer concept. In practice, this case is likely to occur quite often in the future electricity grid, more so than the off-grid scenario.
The question of whether self-relying persons who go off-grid can be considered prosumers is a trickier question. According to the basic definition, these persons are indeed prosumers, since they are both a producer and consumer of electricity. However, some definitions refer to the active participation of ‘prosumers’ in the electricity market, for example by selling electricity back to the grid.(2) Bernt Bremdal, ‘The impact of prosumers in a smart grid based energy market’ [should this title be in italics? It seems inconsistent with the approach generally.(2014) 2 Metering International 71 While these are indeed common traits of prosumers, they are not a part of the prosumer defi nition. Prosumers in different situations will interact with the electricity market to different degrees, and there does not seem to be any particular reason to exclude players in the lowest possible category of interaction, namely being off-grid, from the prosumer definition. For that reason, players who go off-grid are still covered by the prosumer concept.(3) Jacobs (n 12) 526
The prosumer can also be connected to a separate electricity grid, such as a microgrid. The actions taken by the prosumer and the services provided to the other members connected to the grid in the context of a micro-grid are similar to those actions performed in the context of the main grid (apart from the difference in size of the grids). Consequently, there is no reason to exclude participants in microgrids from the prosumer definition.