Characterization of Residential Users’ Behaviour and Influence on Distribution Network Planning

The paper discusses preliminary results of an extensive survey of residential load users in an urban area. This work is part of a wider collaboration between University of Padova and AGSM aiming to analyze the Medium and Low Voltage electrical distribution network, i.e. to characterize existing loads and to define realistic future scenarios considering new resources satisfying sustainable energy policies, e.g., an increased penetration of electricity in final energy uses and the electrical mobility. The first part of the study focused on residential end-users, which represent the customer category with the highest diffusion in LV grids, with the aim of characterizing the actual utilization degree of the existing electrical infrastructure and providing a suitable estimate of end-users’ energy consumption growth trend for network planning purposes.