Differences

This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.

--- merge_into_other_topics:transition [2026/03/19 16:00] – removed - external edit (Unknown date) 127.0.0.1
+++ merge_into_other_topics:transition [2026/03/19 16:00] (current) – ↷ Page moved and renamed from playground:transition_-_transformation to merge_into_other_topics:transition admin
@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+<WRAP catbadge blue>Governance, Innovation & Change</WRAP>
+====== Transition ======
+<WRAP meta>
+lead-authors: Klaus Kubeczko
+contributors: Vitaliy Soloviy
+reviewers: [Names]
+version: 4.0
+updated: 17 March 2026
+sensitivity: medium
+ai-disclosure: Claude Sonnet 4.6 (Anthropic) assisted with topic structuring, editorial revision, reference verification, and formatting; reviewed by [name], 17.03.2026
+</WRAP>
+<WRAP intro>
+Transition describes the process through which an energy system shifts from one configuration to another, involving changes in technologies, actor roles, institutional structures, and governance arrangements. In the context of smart grids, this means moving from centralised, unidirectional power systems toward decentralised, digitally coordinated ones — a process that is non-linear, contested, and never purely technical.
+</WRAP>
+===== Why this matters =====
+Transition is distinct from incremental improvement: it implies that the basic architecture of the system, the relationships among its components, and the rules governing them are all being reconfigured simultaneously. The multi-level perspective provides a widely used framework for understanding how this happens — through interactions between niche innovations developed in protected spaces, an established socio-technical regime that tends toward stability, and broader landscape pressures such as climate change or geopolitical shifts that can destabilise the regime and create openings for change.((Geels, F. W. (2011). The multi-level perspective on sustainability transitions: Responses to seven criticisms. //Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions//, 1(1), 24–40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eist.2011.02.002))
+<WRAP callout>
+Transitions happen when niche innovations, regime pressures, and landscape dynamics interact in ways that produce lasting structural change — not when any one of them acts alone.
+</WRAP>
+===== A shared definition =====
+Transition in the context of smart grids refers to the systemic reconfiguration of a socio-technical system, involving simultaneous changes in technologies, institutions, actor roles, and cultural expectations over extended time periods.((Markard, J., Raven, R., & Truffer, B. (2012). Sustainability transitions: An emerging field of research and its prospects. //Research Policy//, 41(6), 955–967. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2012.02.013))
+Socio-technical systems are organised and operated according to specific sets of principles that shape which technologies are selected, how actors relate to each other, and what is considered legitimate behaviour. These organising principles are embedded in institutions — the rules, norms, and beliefs that regulate, but do not determine, the perceptions and activities of actors. Institutions give systems stability, but actors are knowledgeable agents who can reflexively interpret rules, challenge norms, and actively reshape the systems they operate within.((ISGAN Working Group 7. (2023). //Programme of work: Smart grids transitions — on institutional change//. ISGAN. https://www.iea-isgan.org/our-work3/wg_7/))
+{{:transitions:institutions_actors_technology.png|Institutions, Actors and Technology as interdependent dimensions of socio-technical systems}}
+ISGAN Working Group 7 on Smart Grids Transitions frames the challenge across four interdependent dimensions:
+^ ^ ^
+^ Grid Technologies & Architecture \\ //generation, transmission, local grids, storage, supply, load// ^ Institutional Ecosystem & Networks \\ //sectoral, corporate, public, civic networks// ^
+| **Actors and Users** \\ //producing, moving, living, other energy practices// | **Complex Governance Processes** \\ //anticipating, adapting, agile acting, orchestrating, steering// |
+Transitions involve simultaneous co-evolution across all four dimensions. Geels and Schot identify four distinct transition pathways: transformation (regime actors redirect the system under moderate pressure); technological substitution (mature niche innovations replace the regime under strong pressure); reconfiguration (symbiotic innovations trigger architectural change incrementally); and de-alignment and re-alignment (sudden disruption destabilises the regime before a new configuration emerges).((Geels, F. W., & Schot, J. (2007). Typology of sociotechnical transition pathways. //Research Policy//, 36(3), 399–417. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2007.01.003))
+===== Perspectives =====
+Who acts, what is built, and what rules govern the system all change in a transition — and rarely at the same pace.
+<WRAP perspectives>
+==== Actors and stakeholders ====
+Transitions reshape actor constellations. Incumbent utilities face strategic choices about their business models while new entrants — aggregators, community energy organisations, platform operators — bring different capabilities and interests. Consumers become prosumers with generation assets and flexibility to offer. Crucially, transitions emerge from both intentional strategies and the unplanned outcomes of many actors pursuing their own agendas simultaneously.
+<WRAP case>
+**Uruguay -- national wind transition** \\
+State-led coordination between the national utility UTE and clear policy direction produced rapid wind integration, now covering the majority of annual electricity generation — a transition shaped by strong incumbent-actor alignment with policy goals.((World Resources Institute. (2016). //How Uruguay became a wind power powerhouse//. WRI. https://www.wri.org/insights/how-uruguay-became-wind-power-powerhouse))
+</WRAP>
+<WRAP case>
+**Germany -- Energiewende actor landscape** \\
+The transition has generated citizen energy cooperatives, re-entering municipal utilities, and new aggregator businesses alongside incumbent adaptation and continuous regulatory negotiation.((Bauknecht, D., Funcke, S., & Vogel, M. (2020). Is small beautiful? A framework for assessing decentralised electricity systems. //Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews//, 118, 109543. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2019.109543))
+</WRAP>
+<WRAP case>
+**South Africa -- Independent Power Producer programme** \\
+New private generation actors were introduced into a system previously dominated by state utility Eskom, creating a dynamic where new entrants and an incumbent operate alongside each other under still-evolving institutional arrangements.((Eberhard, A., & Naude, R. (2017). //The South African Renewable Energy IPP Procurement Programme: Review, lessons learned and proposals to reduce transaction costs//. UCT Graduate School of Business. https://www.gsb.uct.ac.za/files/EberhardNaude_REIPPPPReview_2017_1_1.pdf))
+</WRAP>
+==== Technologies and infrastructure ====
+Energy system infrastructure changes slowly. Transmission networks, distribution grids, and large generation plants have multi-decade lifespans. Smart grid technologies coexist with legacy infrastructure, requiring new interfaces, control approaches, and interoperability standards. The concept of system architecture captures how components are arranged: transitions often involve shifts from centralised, hierarchical configurations toward more distributed, networked ones.((Andersen, A., Markard, J., Bauknecht, D., & Korpås, M. (2023). Architectural change in accelerating transitions. //Energy Research and Social Science//, 97, 102945. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2023.102945))
+<WRAP case>
+**China -- ultra-high-voltage and distributed solar** \\
+A transition combining massive centralised infrastructure with rapid distributed solar deployment, enabled by state manufacturing capacity, subsidies, and unified national planning.((World Economic Forum. (2025). //China's renewable energy boom has its own challenges//. WEF. https://www.weforum.org/stories/2025/12/china-adding-more-renewables-to-grid/))
+</WRAP>
+<WRAP case>
+**Kenya -- off-grid to grid transition** \\
+Rural areas are experiencing layered transitions from no access through off-grid solar toward eventual grid connection — different stages coexisting geographically within the same country.((International Energy Agency. (2024). //Unlocking smart grid opportunities in emerging markets and developing economies//. IEA. https://www.iea.org/reports/unlocking-smart-grid-opportunities-in-emerging-markets-and-developing-economies))
+</WRAP>
+==== Institutional structures ====
+Institutions shape the pace and direction of transitions. Transition management — a governance approach developed in the Netherlands — proposes that transitions benefit from dedicated arenas for long-term visioning and adaptive experimentation that operate alongside established structures.((Rotmans, J., Kemp, R., & van Asselt, M. (2001). More evolution than revolution: Transition management in public policy. //Foresight//, 3(1), 15–31. https://doi.org/10.1108/14636680110803003)) In practice, transitions often involve institutional layering: new rules for flexibility markets or citizen energy communities added to frameworks designed for centralised systems, creating tensions between old and new logics.
+<WRAP case>
+**European Union -- Clean Energy Package** \\
+Directive 2019/944 establishes new market rules for active customers, citizen energy communities, and aggregators — a supranational institutional transition reshaping the architecture for electricity across member states.((European Parliament and Council of the European Union. (2019). Directive 2019/944 on common rules for the internal market for electricity. //Official Journal of the European Union//, L 158, 125–199. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2019/944/oj))
+</WRAP>
+</WRAP>
+===== Key terms =====
+**Multi-level perspective:** an analytical framework explaining transitions through interactions between niche innovations, the established socio-technical regime, and broader landscape pressures.((Geels, F. W. (2011). The multi-level perspective on sustainability transitions: Responses to seven criticisms. //Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions//, 1(1), 24–40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eist.2011.02.002))
+**Regime:** the dominant, stable configuration of technologies, institutions, actor networks, and cognitive frames constituting the established way of organising a socio-technical system.
+**Transition pathway:** a distinct pattern through which a socio-technical regime changes, determined by the relative timing and strength of niche development and landscape pressure.((Geels, F. W., & Schot, J. (2007). Typology of sociotechnical transition pathways. //Research Policy//, 36(3), 399–417. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2007.01.003))
+===== Related topics =====
+{{tag>Institutions Governance Readiness Resilience Scenarios Digitalisation}}
+===== References =====