Differences

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

Link to this comparison view

Both sides previous revisionPrevious revision
Next revision		Previous revision
topics:grid [2026/03/27 08:16] – admintopics:grid [2026/04/18 01:25] (current) – vso_vso
Line 7: Line 7:
 contributors: contributors:
 reviewers: reviewers:
-version: 2.0 +version: 0.5 
-updated: 19 March 2026+updated: 26 March 2026
 sensitivity: low sensitivity: low
-ai-use: Claude Sonnet 4.6 (Anthropic) was used for research synthesis and section drafting; all sources independently verified+ai-use: Claude Sonnet 4.6 (Anthropic) was used to split and restructure content from the combined grid/architecture draft; reviewed by Vitaliy Soloviy, 26 March 2026
 status: draft status: draft
 </WRAP> </WRAP>
  
 <WRAP intro> <WRAP intro>
-The grid refers to the interconnected network of transmission and distribution infrastructure through which electricity flows from generation sources to end-users. Smart grid transitions are reconfiguring grid architecture at multiple levels: at transmission level, new interconnectors and grid-forming inverters are changing how system inertia and frequency regulation work; at distribution level, the proliferation of rooftop solar, batteries, and electric vehicles is turning networks designed for one-way power flow into active systems with bidirectional flows. The concept of the grid is expanding to include communication infrastructure, data platforms, and logical coordination layers alongside the physical wires and transformers.((Farhangi, H. (2010). The path of the smart grid. //IEEE Power and Energy Magazine//, 8(1), 18–28. https://doi.org/10.1109/MPE.2009.934876)) +The grid is the interconnected network of transmission and distribution infrastructure through which electricity flows. Smart grid transitions are reconfiguring it at both levels: at transmission level, new interconnectors and grid-forming inverters are changing how system inertia and frequency regulation work; at distribution/local level, rooftop solar, batteries, and electric vehicles are turning networks designed for one-way power flow into active systems with bidirectional flows.((Farhangi, H. (2010). The path of the smart grid. //IEEE Power and Energy Magazine//, 8(1), 18–28. https://doi.org/10.1109/MPE.2009.934876))
-</WRAP> +
- +
-<WRAP insight> +
-The grid encompasses transmission and distribution infrastructure, control systems, and governance layers; smart grid transitions are making bidirectional flows and distributed coordination central to how grids function.+
 </WRAP> </WRAP>
  
 ===== Why this matters ===== ===== Why this matters =====
  
-As electricity systems integrate more distributed resources and digital control, coordinating actors, assets, and data across multiple grid levels becomes more complex. Architecture frameworks provide a shared language for this coordination — allowing engineers, regulators, and market designers to map where decisions are made, which interfaces carry which information, and where interoperability is required. Without such frameworks, standards and regulations risk being designed in isolation, creating gaps and conflicts in system operation. The governance configuration of the grid — who owns what, on what terms, under what rules — shapes what transitions are possible and who can participate in them.+Grids were designed around a simple logic: large generators at one end, passive consumers at the other, with transmission and distribution as the delivery pipe. Smart grid transitions break this logic at every point. Generation is now distributed across millions of small sites. Demand is increasingly flexible and, with storage and EVs, can feed back into the grid. The distribution network, which was never designed for two-way flows, becomes a coordination challenge.
  
 <WRAP callout> <WRAP callout>
-The three major architecture frameworks — SGIRM, GWAC, and SGAM — each decompose the smart grid into layers spanning from physical assets and communications to business processes and regulatory structures, but they differ in emphasis and regional uptake.+Grid ownership, operation and regulation shape which transitions are possible and who can participate in them.
 </WRAP> </WRAP>
  
Line 33: Line 29:
  
 The grid encompasses the physical infrastructure of electricity transmission and distribution — lines, cables, transformers, substations, and switching equipment — together with the communication systems, control architectures, and logical coordination functions that manage power flows across it. In smart grid contexts, the grid often denotes the full socio-technical system: not just the wires, but also the standards, ownership arrangements, operational rules, and data flows that determine how the physical network behaves. The grid encompasses the physical infrastructure of electricity transmission and distribution — lines, cables, transformers, substations, and switching equipment — together with the communication systems, control architectures, and logical coordination functions that manage power flows across it. In smart grid contexts, the grid often denotes the full socio-technical system: not just the wires, but also the standards, ownership arrangements, operational rules, and data flows that determine how the physical network behaves.
- 
-A fundamental distinction separates the **transmission system** (high-voltage, long-distance, interconnected at national or regional scale) from the **distribution system** (medium and low voltage, reaching end-users, historically passive and radial in design). Smart grid development is most pronounced at the distribution level, where new actors, devices, and services create coordination challenges the original architecture was not designed for. 
  
 ^ Term ^ Definition ^ ^ Term ^ Definition ^
 | **Transmission system** | High-voltage, long-distance network connecting large generation sources and bulk consumers across national or regional geographies | | **Transmission system** | High-voltage, long-distance network connecting large generation sources and bulk consumers across national or regional geographies |
 | **Distribution system** | Medium and low-voltage network delivering electricity to end-users; historically radial and passive, increasingly active with distributed generation and flexible loads | | **Distribution system** | Medium and low-voltage network delivering electricity to end-users; historically radial and passive, increasingly active with distributed generation and flexible loads |
-| **Domain** | In SGAM, a segment of the physical energy conversion chain: generation, transmission, distribution, DER, and customer premises | +| **Grid-edge** | Devices and systems at the load and customer end of the distribution network, including smart meters, inverters, EV chargers, and building energy management systems | 
-| **Zone** | In SGAM, a level of the operational hierarchy, from the physical process layer through field, station, operation, enterprise, and market | +| **Bidirectional flow** | Power flowing both from the grid to the customer and from the customer back to the grid, enabled by distributed generation and storage | 
-| **Interoperability layer** | In SGAM, one of five levels at which components, systems, or organisations must exchange meaningful information: component, communication, information, function, or business | +| **Grid code** | The set of technical and operational standards that define how generators, operators, and other parties must interact with the grid |
-| **Transactive energy** | A control and coordination approach combining economic signals with physical control to balance supply, demand, and network constraints across distributed grid actors |+
  
 ===== Perspectives ===== ===== Perspectives =====
Line 49: Line 42:
 ==== Actors and stakeholders ==== ==== Actors and stakeholders ====
  
-Architecture frameworks serve different user communities. Standards bodies and equipment manufacturers use them to define interoperability requirements. System operators use them to assess integration challenges when new resource types connect to the grid. Regulators and policymakers use them to identify governance gaps across system layers. The WG7 analytical work on network architecture and governance maps how ownership structures and decision-making authority configure differently depending on how centralised, decentralised, or distributed the network architecture is, and whether the logical and policy layers align with the physical structure.((Kubeczko, K. (2017). //Die Rolle von Smart Grids in der Transition zu nachhaltigen Energiesystemen//. Keynote, IEA Vernetzungstreffen, Salzburg, 12 October 2017.))+The grid involves a structured set of actors with distinct mandates: transmission system operators managing high-voltage bulk transfer and frequency stability; distribution system operators managing local delivery and increasingly active coordination of distributed resources; generators and storage operators deciding when to inject or withdraw power; and users at the grid edge whose collective behaviour is increasingly shaping local network conditions. Ownership and operation of grid assets are often separated under unbundling rules, and the clarity of role definitions between entities shapes how investment decisions are made.
  
-@@GAP@@ Case examples needed: one case showing how an architecture framework informed a regulatory or standards process; one from outside the EU or North America.+@@GAP@@ Case examples needed: one case illustrating a specific actor coordination challenge as the distribution network becomes more active (e.g. a jurisdiction where DSO and TSO responsibilities overlap or conflict); one non-EU case.
  
 ==== Technologies and infrastructure ==== ==== Technologies and infrastructure ====
  
-Three reference frameworks describe smart grid architecture systematically, each emphasising different dimensions.+The physical grid comprises conductors, transformers, switchgear, and protection systems operating across voltage levels from extra-high-voltage transmission lines to low-voltage distribution feeders. Smart grid transitions add communication and sensing layers to this physical infrastructure: smart meters, phasor measurement units, distribution automation systems, and SCADA platforms give operators visibility and control that was not possible in purely analogue networks. Inverter-based resources — solar, wind, and batteries — interact with the grid differently from rotating generators, changing how frequency and voltage are maintained.
  
-The **Smart Grid Interoperability Reference Model (SGIRM)**, revised in IEEE 2030.4-2023, organises smart grid architecture around three integrated architectural perspectives: components and functions (physical assets and their built-in control functions); information and communications (data models and communication systems); and business and economics (market structures, fleet management, grid services transactions, tariffs, and regulatory considerations — a perspective added in the 2023 revision to reflect distributed energy resources and market-based coordination).((IEEE. (2023). //2030.4-2023 — IEEE Guide for Control and Automation Installations Applied to the Electric Power Infrastructure//. IEEE. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10326147/)) Physical locations are classified as grid-edge (load and customer end), field or substation, and enterprise or cloud. +@@GAP@@ Case examples needed: one case illustrating a specific physical grid challenge introduced by high penetration of distributed generation (e.g. voltage rise, reverse flows, protection coordination); one case from outside Europe.
- +
-The **GridWise Transactive Energy Framework**, developed by the GridWise Architecture Council, applies the GWAC interoperability stack to architectures that use economic and control techniques jointly to improve grid reliability and efficiency.((GWAC. (2019). //GridWise Transactive Energy Framework, Version 1.1//. GridWise Architecture Council. https://gridwiseac.org/pdfs/pnnl_22946_gwac_te_framework_july_2019_v1_1.pdf)) The GWAC Stack organises interoperability from basic connectivity and network interoperability at lower levels through semantic and informational interoperability to business objectives and economic or regulatory policy at the upper levels. +
- +
-<WRAP figure> +
-{{:grid:gwac_stack.png|GWAC Stack with strata of transactive energy}} +
- +
-**Figure 1.** GWAC Stack with transactive energy strata. //Source: GridWise Architecture Council (2019).// +
-</WRAP> +
- +
-The **Smart Grid Architecture Model (SGAM)**, developed by the CEN-CENELEC-ETSI Smart Grid Coordination Group and the reference architecture for EU smart grid standardisation, represents grid architecture as a three-dimensional model across domains (the physical energy conversion chain), zones (the operational hierarchy from field equipment to market), and interoperability layers (component, communication, information, function, and business).((CEN-CENELEC-ETSI Smart Grid Coordination Group. //Smart Grid Architecture Model (SGAM) Framework//. https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/eu-policy-digitalisation-energy)) +
- +
-<WRAP figure> +
-{{:grid:sgam_model.png|SGAM three-dimensional model}} +
- +
-**Figure 2.** SGAM three-dimensional representation across Domains, Zones, and Interoperability Layers. //Source: CEN-CENELEC-ETSI Smart Grid Coordination Group.// +
-</WRAP> +
- +
-@@GAP@@ Case examples needed: one case showing a specific interoperability challenge diagnosed using an architecture framework.+
  
 ==== Institutional structures ==== ==== Institutional structures ====
  
-Beyond technical architecture, the configuration of a grid network has governance implications. Cross-tabulating network architecture (centralised, decentralised, distributed) against the logical layer and the policy layer produces structurally distinct grid types with different implications for ownership, participation, and resilience.((Kubeczko, K. (2017). //Die Rolle von Smart Grids in der Transition zu nachhaltigen Energiesystemen//. Keynote, IEA Vernetzungstreffen, Salzburg, 12 October 2017.)) +Grid ownership and regulatory design vary substantially across jurisdictions. Some grids are publicly owned natural monopolies; others are privately owned and regulated; some involve cooperative or municipal ownership structures particularly at distribution level. Unbundling rules separate network ownership from generation and retail in many regulatory frameworks, but the degree of separation and its effect on investment incentives differs widely. Grid codes specify the technical interface rules that govern how all actors connect and operate within the system.
- +
-<WRAP tablecap> +
-**Table 1.** Network architecture crossed with logical layer — resulting grid coordination types.\\ +
-//Source: Kubeczko (2017), adapted.// +
-</WRAP>+
  
-^ Logical layer ^ ^ Network architecture ^ ^ ^ +@@GAP@@ Case examples needed: one case contrasting ownership models and their effect on grid investment or transition capacity; one non-European case.
-| ::: | ::: | **Centralised** | **Decentralised** | **Distributed** | +
-| **Centralised** | ::: | Trusted national TSO | Smart meter national ledger (e.g. Sweden) | Blockchain ledger for direct interaction | +
-| **Decentralised** | ::: | Markets and market institutions | Markets and market institutions; smart meter ledger by DSOs | Markets and market institutions | +
-| **Distributed** | ::: | Bilateral contract solutions | Bilateral contract solutions | Bilateral contract solutions | +
- +
-<WRAP tablecap> +
-**Table 2.** Network architecture crossed with policy layer — resulting ownership and governance types.\\ +
-//Source: Kubeczko (2017), adapted.// +
-</WRAP> +
- +
-^ Policy layer ^ ^ Network architecture ^ ^ ^ +
-| ::: | ::: | **Centralised** | **Decentralised** | **Distributed** | +
-| **Centralised** | ::: | Transmission grid (national monopoly) | Super-grid (global oligopoly) | Publicly owned local grids with local RES feed-in | +
-| **Decentralised** | ::: | Private monopolies and oligopolies of multinationals | Distribution grid (local monopoly); suppliers on market | Linked mini-grids; local grid with local RES (e.g. cooperative) | +
-| **Distributed** | ::: | People as shareholder; public voting | Local shareholders in monopoly | Linked local grids (locally co-owned, e.g. cooperatives, energy communities) | +
- +
-@@GAP@@ Case examples needed: one case where SGAM or SGIRM was used in a regulatory process; one from outside the EU.+
  
 </WRAP> </WRAP>
Line 115: Line 68:
  
 <WRAP distinction> <WRAP distinction>
-**Grid architecture vs grid operation**\\ +**Grid vs grid architecture**\\ 
-Architecture frameworks such as SGAM, SGIRM, and GWAC describe the structural composition of the grid — the layers it contains and the interfaces between them. Grid operation covers how that structure performs in real time, including frequency regulation, voltage control, and balancing. Architectural choices constrain and enable operational possibilities; operational functions are addressed separately in the [[topics:operability|Operability]] topic.+Grid refers to the physical network and its operation. Grid architecture refers to the conceptual frameworks — SGAM, SGIRM, GWAC — used to map the layers and domains of that system for purposes of standards development, interoperability planning, and governance analysis. The two are related but distinct: one is the thing, the other is the map. See the [[topics:grid_architecture|Grid architecture]] topic.
 </WRAP> </WRAP>
  
 <WRAP distinction> <WRAP distinction>
-**Centralised, decentralised, and distributed**\\ +**Transmission vs distribution**\\ 
-These terms describe both physical network topology and governance logic, and the two dimensions do not necessarily align. A centralised physical network is not the same as centralised governance; combinations of the two produce structurally distinct system types with different implications for ownership, participation, and resilience.+These two sub-systems differ in voltage level, geographic scale, physical topology, operator mandate, and the nature of the coordination challenge. Transmission is meshed, high-voltage, and designed for bulk transfer between large nodes. Distribution is radial (or weakly meshed), lower voltage, and designed for final delivery — a design that is under pressure as distributed resources proliferate.
 </WRAP> </WRAP>
  
 ===== Related topics ===== ===== Related topics =====
  
-[[topics:infrastructure|Infrastructure]] · [[topics:digitalisation|Digitalisation]] · [[topics:grid_edge|Grid edge]] · [[topics:grid_ownership|Grid ownership]] · [[topics:energy_logistics|Energy logistics]] · [[topics:operability|Operability]]+[[topics:grid_architecture|Grid architecture]] · [[topics:grid_edge|Grid edge]] · [[topics:grid_ownership|Grid ownership]] · [[topics:operator|Operator]] · [[topics:energy_logistics|Energy logistics]] · [[topics:operability|Operability]] · [[topics:resilience|Resilience]] 
 + 
 +===== Topic notes ===== 
 + 
 +Split from combined grid/architecture draft on 26 March 2026. This file covers the physical network concept. Architecture frameworks (SGIRM, GWAC, SGAM) and the tables are in grid_architecture.dokuwiki. 
  
-~~DISCUSSION|Discussion — logged-in users only~~+~~DISCUSSION|Discussion~~