An Overview of Selected Studies on the Value of Lost Load ( VOLL )

This paper provides an overview of some of the recent literature on the Value Of Lost Load (VOLL). VOLL as monetary expression for the costs associated with interor disruptions of electricity supply, as a result of production, transmission or distribution failures, can be a useful variable that allows for the quantification of one of the dimensions of energy supply security of a country, region or economic sector. Through our literature review and a closer inspection of a selection of the most quoted references, we find that figures for VOLL are almost certainly laying in a range of 4-40 $/kWh for developed countries and 1-10 $/kWh for developing countries. With still a high level of confidence these ranges can be narrowed down to, respectively, 5-25 $/kWh and 25 $/kWh. We also carefully conclude that these ranges seem left-skewed.