Impact of Blockchain Technology on Electric Power Grids -- A case study in LO3 Energy

Abstract: The increasing amount of distributed energy resources including renewable energy systems and electric vehicles is expected to change electric power grids significantly, where conventional consumers are transformed to prosumers since they can produce electricity as well. In such an ecosystem, prosumers can start offering their excess energy to supply demands of the other customers on the grids behind the meter without interference of distribution system operators (DSO). Besides, DSOs require more accurate and more frequent data form prosumers' net demand to be able to operate their network efficiently. The main challenge in these new distribution grids is the amount of data that needs to be collected in this platform is unbelievably high, and more immortally, prosumers will likely refuse to share their information with DSOs due to their potential privacy and economic concerns. Blockchain technology as an efficient distributed solution for management of data and financial transactions, has been considered to solve this trust issue. With blockchain-based solutions, data and financial transactions between all parties will take placed through distributed ledgers without any interference from an intermediary. In this paper, impacts of blockchain technologies on electric power industry is studied. The paper specifically focuses on LO3 Energy -- one of startups applying blockchain to electric power grids -- their blockchain-based solution called Exergy, and their use cases to implement such solutions.