Analyzing the Impact of Pricing Strategies on Economic Fairness in Energy Communities

This article proposes a comprehensive framework encompassing energy sharing optimization, pricing schemes for energy transactions, and fairness metrics to validate the profit distribution of members in an energy community. First, a mixed-integer linear programming model is introduced to optimize energy sharing among the members of an energy community. Second, the study provides insights into the impact of four pricing mechanisms on economic fairness within the energy community. Finally, to validate the profit distribution, two fairness metrics assessing the quality of experience and the profit gaps are integrated to ensure economic equity within the energy community. The results shed light on the achieved level of fairness, evaluating the effectiveness of diverse pricing methods and the collaborative energy-sharing dynamics within the energy community.