The future of DSOs. Our take on energy communities and regulatory sandboxes

Abstract

The energy transition is changing the energy ecosystem. Until recently, energy production was mostly centralised, with relatively few large power plants connected to the transmission system operated by transmission system operators (TSOs). Regulatory changes to accommodate the integration of renewable energy initially focused on the transmission aspect, which resulted in a significant transformation of the TSOs, while leaving the distribution system operator (DSO) landscape virtually unaffected. In recent years, however, due in part to advances in renewable energy technology, power generation and distribution have become more decentralised. DSOs now find themselves at the centre of change, operating the grid which all these new players – producers and prosumers – want to connect to and use. The challenge is for DSOs to enable and facilitate change, rather than becoming a bottleneck. In 2018 the DSO Chair organised two workshops to discuss topical issues facing the future of DSOs: (1) energy communities and (2) regulatory sandboxes. Despite being selected independently of each other, these two topics turned out to be interrelated.