Dissolving Metaphors in Peer-to-Peer Energy Trading: Towards a More Concrete Understanding of Metering, Legitimacy and Revenue Flows

Peer-to-peer (P2P) tokenised energy trading has seen much research interest in recent years. Despite this, the concrete physical workings of such marketplaces are rarely explained in the extant literature. This paper discusses notional P2P marketplaces with regard to their real-world implementation. The analysis of the physical/Velectrical layer and metaphorical token layer are kept distinct. Tokenised energy is conceptualised here as a dynamic license to consume, which serves as a flow of legitimacy for energy consumption in P2P schemes as typically proposed. Ledger structures, including centralised and decentralised/blockchain examples are examined. With the above points in mind, the workings of a notional blockchain-aware smart meter are described. The authors argue that while P2P energy trading may be a useful tool for regulators and for integration into smart token ecosystems, the drawbacks associated with decentralised tokenised energy markets may outweigh the apparent benefits at present.