Energy Policy 36 (2008) 163–180 Economic and environmental impacts from the implementation of an intelligent demand side management system at the European level G. Papagiannis à , A. Dagoumas, N. Lettas, P. Dokopoulos Power Systems Laboratory, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GR-54124 Thessaloniki, Greece Received 29 June 2007; accepted 4 September 2007 Available online 22 October 2007 Abstract This paper presents the results of an analysis on the economic and environmental impacts of the application of an intelligent demand side management system, called the Energy Consumption Management System (ECMS), in the European countries. The ECMS can be applied for the control of individual, widely distributed electric loads, using the power distribution network as the command communication channel. The system can be applied in public lighting, in the tertiary and residential sectors, as well as in the industry. A top-down analysis investigates the possible penetration levels in each application area. The long-term impacts following the application of system are evaluated using the LEAP2006 platform. The WASP IV model is also used for the optimization of the power generation expansion and the corresponding calibration of LEAP2006. Several operational strategies combining variable market penetration of the ECMS and expected energy savings are examined. Results show that, under a logical market penetration, a reduction of 1–4% in primary energy, of 1.5–5% in CO 2 emissions and a 2–8% saving in investment costs for power generation expansion is to be expected for the EU-15. The results also justify that innovative devices may be attractive to end users and also help in the implementation of global energy-saving policies. r 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Demand side management; Electric energy saving; Emissions abatement 1. Introduction Compliance with the Kyoto Protocol (Dagoumas et al., 2006, 2007) requires investments in technologies that incorporate energy control strategies, which lead to substantial energy savings. Renewable energy technologies (Kumar et al., 2003), labeling programs (Brown et al., 2002) and energy-efficient systems (Almeida et al., 2003) have already been applied with success in mitigating carbon emissions. However, the annual percent increase in the final electricity consumption across the EU-15 reached 2.1% for the period 1990–2003, almost twice the 1.2% annual increase in the overall final energy consump- tion for the same period (EEA, 2006). This was due to the increased use of electric appliances in both service and residential sectors and due to the advent of new electrical appliances. This rise in consumption practically offset the enhanced efficiency of the conventional white household appliances (Bosseboeuf et al., 2005). The EU’s recent Green Paper on energy efficiency (EC, 2005) estimates that the EU could reduce its current level of energy consump- tion by up to 20%, compared with the baseline projection in 2020. Therefore, additional measures are necessary, aiming at the rationalization of the use of electric energy and at the minimization of electric energy waste. The scope of this paper is to investigate the economic and environmental impacts that result from the implemen- tation of an intelligent demand side management system, called Energy Consumption Management System (ECMS), at the European level. The ECMS is an integrated system, aiming at the rationalization of electric energy consumption. It is addressed to public and private end users, as well as to electric power providers. It can be used for the implemen- tation of proper consumption control strategies, as it allows the control of each electrical device individually. The system is based on an intelligent low-cost control ARTICLE IN PRESS www.elsevier.com/locate/enpol 0301-4215/$ - see front matter r 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2007.09.005 à Corresponding author. Tel.: +30 231 099 6388; fax: +30 231 099 6302. E-mail address: grigoris@eng.auth.gr (G. Papagiannis).