A Business Model Guideline of Electricity Utility Systems Based on Blockchain Technology in Thailand: A Case Study of Consumers, Prosumers and SMEs

Abstract

© 2020, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature. This paper presents a business model guideline of electricity utility systems based on blockchain technology in Thailand: a case study of consumers, prosumers and SMEs. Because the resource management of electricity utility systems in Thailand presently are based on enhanced single buyer or a centralized system. However, a free-trade energy market is likely to open or occur in the near future. Thus, a preparation of changing or adapting such a free-trade energy market using disruptive technology is an important point to study the aforementioned disruptive technology (i.e. blockchain technology). The future business of the free-trade energy market is related to the policy of the government (Thailand 4.0). It will support technology development and innovation to encourage the potential and readiness and to compete for foreign countries. In this scoping study, the business model guideline of electricity trading with peer to peer (P2P) is proposed to utilize the case study of consumers and prosumers/SMEs in Thailand based on a decentralized system. The P2P trading is directly the buying and selling of electricity between both consumers and prosumers. It is not a passed intermediary; otherwise, an intermediate process can be cut by this trading in order to save and reduce electricity costs. Preliminary expected impacts of cost structure analysis are summarized in terms of comparisons between the existing electricity trading and the blockchain technology. The results of such preliminary expected impacts show that costs to consumers, prosumers and SMEs obtained from the use of blockchain technology are possibly lower than those of EGAT, PEA, and MEA in the future. In addition, the business model guideline is completely discussed by theory in disruptive innovation.