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--- topics:systems [2026/03/14 12:34] – ↷ Page moved from systems to topics:systems admin
+++ topics:systems [2026/03/20 00:02] (current) – Status updated to development admin
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-[[provisioning_systems|]];
+<WRAP catbadge blue>General Topics</WRAP>
-[[integrated_system|]];
+====== Systems ======
-====== SYSTEMs ======
+<WRAP meta>
+lead-authors: [Name]
+contributors: [Names]
+reviewers: [Names]
+version: 2.0
+updated: 19 March 2026
+sensitivity: low
+ai-disclosure: Claude Sonnet 4.6 (Anthropic) assisted with research synthesis and section update. Verification is in progress.
+status: development
+short-desc: Conceptual frameworks for understanding energy systems as socio-technical, cyber-physical, and innovation-oriented configurations.
+</WRAP>
-===== Energy System as Eco-System =====
+<WRAP intro>
-...actors stakeholders - perspective in triangulation
+Systems thinking applies concepts of interdependence, emergence, feedback, and boundary-setting to understanding how energy infrastructure, markets, and institutions interact.
+</WRAP>
-===== Energy System and Socio-technical Energy Production-Consumption System =====
+Energy systems are not simply technical objects with well-defined components. They are sociotechnical configurations in which physical infrastructure, regulatory frameworks, economic actors, and everyday practices are mutually constituted. Systems thinking draws on multiple traditions such as engineering, ecology, and social science, and provides tools for analysing how change propagates, where leverage points exist, and why interventions produce unintended consequences.((Meadows, D. H. (2008). //Thinking in systems: A primer//. Chelsea Green Publishing.))
-What is an energy system as compared to a socio-technical energy production-consumption system?
+<WRAP callout>
+Disciplines see systems in different ways - as open or closed, as static or dynamic and evolving.
+</WRAP>
+===== Energy systems as socio-technical configurations =====
+Socio-technical systems are defined as the linkages between elements necessary to fulfil societal functions.((Geels, F. W. (2004). From sectoral systems of innovation to socio-technical systems. //Research Policy//, 33(6–7), 897–920.)) For energy, this means actors, technologies, and institutions that co-evolve and align over time((Markard, J., Raven, R., & Truffer, B. (2012). Sustainability transitions: An emerging field of research and its prospects. //Research Policy//, 41(6), 955–967.)) — encompassing both the supply side (generation, distribution infrastructure) and the demand side (consumer practices, building stock, industrial processes), each shaped by regulatory norms and market rules.
-An energy system is a broad term that refers to the set of technologies, institutions, policies, and practices involved in the production, distribution, and consumption of energy. It encompasses all the physical and social components necessary for energy provision, including infrastructure, markets, and regulations.
+This co-evolution is stabilising and constraining simultaneously. It enables reliable provision at scale, but also produces path dependency and lock-in, where existing technologies, regulations, and actor relationships reinforce each other and resist radical change.((Geels, F. W., Sovacool, B. K., Schwanen, T., & Sorrell, S. (2017). The socio-technical dynamics of low-carbon transitions. //Joule//, 1(3), 463–479.)) The multi-level perspective (MLP) captures this through three analytical levels: the **landscape** (broad macro-level pressures), the **regime** (dominant rules, practices, and technologies), and the **niche** (where radical innovations develop in protected conditions). Transitions occur when regime destabilisation aligns with niche innovations gaining momentum.
-On the other hand, a socio-technical energy production-consumption system is a more specific term that refers to the interconnected and interdependent relationships between technology, society, and the environment in the energy sector. It includes not only the physical components of energy production, distribution, and consumption but also the social, economic, and political factors that shape energy systems, such as cultural values, consumer behavior, and political institutions.
+A layered functional reading complements this. Rather than treating energy as a single integrated whole, it distinguishes:
-The socio-technical energy production-consumption system recognizes that energy systems are not simply the result of technical innovations but are shaped by social and political forces as well. It emphasizes the need to understand the complex interactions between technology and society in order to effectively design and implement sustainable and equitable energy systems.
+  * **Resources** — fossil fuels, wind, solar, nuclear
+  * **Production** — centralised generation, transformation, industrial processes
+  * **Logistics** — transmission, distribution, storage, imports/exports
+  * **End-use** — people, industry, transport/mobility, ICT and services
-[source: [[https://help.openai.com/en/articles/6825453-chatgpt-release-notes|ChatGPT Mar 14 Version]]. Free Research Preview. Chat generated on 24.03.2023]
+Cutting across all layers are supporting capacities (R&I, education) and supporting infrastructures (transport, ICT). This view makes visible how interventions at one layer propagate to others and where systemic dependencies concentrate.
+===== The smart grid as a cyber-physical system =====
-===== Energy Production-Consumption System (Energy-PCS) [EEA-ETC-ST 2022 Task 3.1] =====
+A cyber-physical system (CPS) combines physical processes with embedded computation, networking, and real-time control. The smart grid has been characterised as a system of CPS that must work together to exchange data and perform predictably.((NARUC (2021). //Understanding Cybersecurity for the Smart Grid//. National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners.))
-{{ :system.png?600 |}}
+<WRAP callout>
-//Figure 5 Functional layer of the energy system elements of Energy PCS //
+The distinguishing feature of the smart grid is the addition of two-way communication alongside two-way power flow, which is both its main capability and its main vulnerability.
+</WRAP>
-[Source: EEA- ETC-ST energy pcs europe background paper_ DRAFT 6 17.11.22]
+NIST's smart grid conceptual model identifies seven functional domains, such as bulk generation, transmission, distribution, markets, operations, service provider, and customer, and the interfaces across which interoperable, secure data exchange must take place.((NIST (2021). //Framework and Roadmap for Smart Grid Interoperability Standards, Release 4.0//. National Institute of Standards and Technology.)) From a CPS perspective, smart grid modernisation is a system-of-systems design challenge: intelligent sensors, automated controls, advanced metering, and distributed energy resources must participate in real-time coordination across all domains. This expands operational capabilities — demand flexibility, distributed generation integration — while also expanding the cybersecurity attack surface. Security thus becomes a systemic property of the infrastructure, not a bolt-on concern.
+===== Innovation systems and the energy transition =====
-===== Cyber-physical System and Energy Systems =====
+The technological innovation systems (TIS) approach analyses how new energy technologies emerge and challenge incumbents through seven system functions: knowledge development and diffusion, entrepreneurial experimentation, direction of search, market formation, legitimation, resource mobilisation, and positive externalities.((Bergek, A., Jacobsson, S., Carlsson, B., Lindmark, S., & Rickne, A. (2008). Analyzing the functional dynamics of technological innovation systems. //Research Policy//, 37(3), 407–429.)) A TIS comprises the technologies, actors, and institutions organised around a particular innovation — asking what systemic conditions are needed for it to develop.
-What is an energy system as compared to a cyber-physical system?
+An **innovation ecosystem** frames this relationally: the interdependent network of entrepreneurs, technology providers, research organisations, financiers, regulators, and users whose coordinated activity enables commercialisation and scaling. Where TIS asks what functions the system performs, ecosystem framing asks who connects whom and who orchestrates collaboration.
-An energy system is a broad term that refers to the set of technologies, institutions, policies, and practices involved in the production, distribution, and consumption of energy. It encompasses all the physical and social components necessary for energy provision, including infrastructure, markets, and regulations.
+Both complement the MLP by attending to how niche innovations are produced in the first place. For smart grid transitions specifically, ICT firms entering the electricity sector have been identified as potential catalysts for sectoral change — bringing business models, standards expectations, and institutional logics that do not fit the traditional utility-centred system.((Erlinghagen, S., & Markard, J. (2012). Smart grids and the transformation of the electricity sector: ICT firms as potential catalysts for sectoral change. //Energy Policy//, 51, 895–906.))
-A cyber-physical system (CPS), on the other hand, is a specific type of system that combines physical and cyber components to monitor and control physical processes. CPSs are characterized by their integration of computational algorithms, communication networks, and physical processes, allowing them to perform complex tasks autonomously and adapt to changing conditions.
+===== Key terms =====
-While both energy systems and CPSs involve the integration of physical and digital components, the key difference between them is their scope and focus. Energy systems are concerned with the provision of energy, whereas CPSs are focused on the integration of physical and digital components to perform specific tasks.
+; Socio-technical system
+: A configuration of actors, technologies, and institutions co-evolved to fulfil a societal function such as energy provision.
+; Regime
+: The dominant rules, norms, and practices stabilising an established socio-technical system; resistant to radical change.
+; Niche
+: A protected space in which radical innovations develop outside the full competitive and regulatory pressures of the regime.
+; Cyber-physical system (CPS)
+: A system integrating physical processes with computation, networking, and real-time control.
+; Technological innovation system (TIS)
+: The actors, institutions, and technologies organised around a specific technology, assessed through system functions.
+; Lock-in
+: Self-reinforcing interdependencies between technologies, actors, and institutions that make system change difficult even when its need is apparent.
-In the context of energy systems, CPSs can be used to monitor and control energy production and consumption processes, such as optimizing power generation, regulating energy distribution, and managing energy storage. The integration of CPSs into energy systems can improve their efficiency, reliability, and sustainability.
+===== Distinctions and overlaps =====
-[source: [[https://help.openai.com/en/articles/6825453-chatgpt-release-notes|ChatGPT Mar 14 Version]]. Free Research Preview. Chat generated on 24.03.2023]
+The socio-technical and CPS framings address the same infrastructure from different starting points: the former asks how social and technical elements co-evolved and what this means for change; the latter asks how physical and digital elements must be designed to function reliably together. Smart grid transitions require both: engineering architecture must be designed for interoperability and security, while institutional and market architecture must also evolve to accommodate new actors and coordination demands.
-===== Innovation-System and Innovation-Ecosystem =====
+The TIS and innovation ecosystem concepts address overlapping territory. An ecosystem is in one sense a particular TIS configuration at a given moment in a given geography. The distinction carries analytical weight because ecosystem framing emphasises orchestration logic — who sets the terms of collaboration — while TIS framing emphasises functional performance — what activities the system is or is not carrying out.
-What is a system of innovation as compared to an innovation ecosystem?
+===== Related topics =====
+[[topics:transitions|Transitions]], [[topics:transition_pathways_-_regime_change|Transition Pathways]], [[topics:innovation|Innovation]], [[topics:technology|Technology]], [[topics:resilience|Resilience]]
-A system of innovation and an innovation ecosystem are both concepts used to describe the environment in which innovation occurs. However, they differ in their emphasis and scope.
+===== References =====
-A system of innovation typically refers to the broader set of institutions, organizations, and actors that contribute to the innovation process, including universities, research institutions, firms, government agencies, and other intermediaries. It encompasses the overall framework of knowledge creation, transfer, and application within a particular industry or economy.
-In contrast, an innovation ecosystem is a narrower and more specific concept that focuses on the interdependent relationships among actors involved in the creation and commercialization of a particular innovation or set of innovations. It includes actors such as entrepreneurs, investors, researchers, customers, suppliers, and regulators, as well as the resources, infrastructure, and support mechanisms necessary for innovation to occur.
-Thus, while a system of innovation is a more comprehensive concept that describes the overall environment in which innovation takes place, an innovation ecosystem is a more specific concept that describes the complex web of interactions and interdependencies among actors involved in a particular innovation or set of innovations.
-[source: [[https://help.openai.com/en/articles/6825453-chatgpt-release-notes|ChatGPT Mar 14 Version]]. Free Research Preview. Chat generated on 24.03.2023]
-===== Socio-technical System - Sustainable Transitions =====
-~~DISCUSSION|Discussion Section - PAGE OWNER: Klaus Kubeczko~~