Economic consultancy Cambridge Economic Policy Associates (CEPA) published a study in October setting out its assessment of the value of lost load (VoLL) across all European member states and all industrial sectors. The study, commissioned by the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators, found that, though electricity is provided with a high degree of reliability across Europe, where disruptions do arise, very high economic costs to society can result.
VoLL is an assessment of the economic value that is lost when electricity is not available to customers. It is used as a comparator to the cost of providing higher – and more expensive – levels of electricity system security.