Blockchain-enabled dual-phase optimization framework for P2P energy systems: integrating MILP, game theory, and social incentives

Abstract

Peer-to-peer (P2P) energy systems allow individual users to produce, consume, and directly trade electricity without depending only on a central utility. Although there is a comprehensive literature where studies claim to improve social welfare, they focus on cost savings or reduced grid use rather than true mutual benefit. However, non-monetary social support is important for protecting energy-vulnerable households. To address this issue, we propose a blockchain-enabled dual-phase framework that delivers monetary trading and non-monetary sharing across the P2P energy network. First, each consumer-prosumer pair negotiates prices and quantities through a game-theoretic bidding process, finding stable Nash equilibria. Then, we use a multi-period mixed-integer linear program (MILP) to clear the market to maximize total monetary welfare under supply constraints. A non-monetary sharing phase then meets any remaining demand as much as possible, and we introduce a Social Support Index (SSI) to measure each prosumer’s non-monetary contribution. Then, all residual demand is met from grid procurements, and in this part, peers are awarded with discounted grid prices according to their SSI index. In addition, smart contracts on a permissioned blockchain are used to execute all bids, clearings, SSI calculations, and incentivized grid procurements to ensure transparent and tamper-proof settlement.