Abstract
The European Union (EU) transition to a smarter and more sustainable electricity sector is driven by climate change adaptation and technological developments. For the electricity distribution industry, this has contributed to a growing need to understand how these network monopolies should adapt their role, activities, and responsibilities for a redesigned electricity market, given the growth of distributed generation, and the increased control and monitoring capabilities. Considering this, a foresight study on business model innovation, technological adaptation, and market design policy alternatives is presented. A Policy Delphi method was applied, involving two iterative survey rounds and 207 European experts, which assessed 57 policy alternatives. The results highlight adaptation challenges for implementing new technologies and business practices. Experts support innovation and transition to new roles, and innovative services, while warranting that core electricity distribution activities are secured. This shift in roles is expected to be achieved through research and development (R&D) support policies, innovation friendly regulatory frameworks, and concerted actions at the EU and Member States level. The results provide policy-adaptation guidelines for electricity distribution industry stakeholders.
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Funding
The authors acknowledge the Portuguese National Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) for supporting this work through the Doctoral Grant PD/BD/105841/2014, awarded under the framework of the MIT Portugal Program funded through the POPH/FSE. Additionally, this work has been partially supported by FCT under Project Grant: UID/MULTI/00308/2013, and SAICTPAC/0004/2015-POCI-01-0145-FEDER-016434, as well as by the Energy for Sustainability Initiative of the University of Coimbra.
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Pereira, G.I., da Silva, P.P. & Soule, D. Policy-adaptation for a smarter and more sustainable EU electricity distribution industry: a foresight analysis. Environ Dev Sustain 20 (Suppl 1), 231–267 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-018-0119-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-018-0119-x