<WRAP catbadge slate>Technology and Infrastructure</WRAP>

====== Grid architecture ======

<WRAP meta>
lead-authors:
contributors:
reviewers:
version: 2.0
updated: 26 March 2026
sensitivity: low
ai-use: Claude Sonnet 4.6 (Anthropic) was used for research synthesis and section drafting; all sources independently verified
status: draft
</WRAP>

<WRAP intro>
Grid architecture frameworks provide structured models for mapping the components, layers, and domains of an electricity system, supporting interoperability planning, standards development, and governance analysis. Three frameworks have been developed since the 2000s — SGIRM, GWAC, and SGAM — each decomposing the smart grid into layers that span from physical assets and communications to business processes and regulatory structures.
</WRAP>

===== 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.

<WRAP callout>
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.
</WRAP>

===== Shared definitions =====

A grid architecture framework is a conceptual model that decomposes an electricity system into defined layers, domains, or zones, specifying how physical, informational, and institutional components interact. Frameworks of this type guide standards development, inform regulatory design, and support interoperability analysis.

^ Term ^ Definition ^
| **Domain** | In SGAM, a segment of the physical energy conversion chain: generation, transmission, distribution, DER, and customer premises |
| **Zone** | In SGAM, a level of the operational hierarchy, from the physical process layer through field, station, operation, enterprise, and market |
| **Interoperability layer** | In SGAM, one of five levels at which components, systems, or organisations must exchange meaningful information: component, communication, information, function, or business |
| **Transactive energy** | A control and coordination approach combining economic signals with physical control to balance supply, demand, and network constraints across distributed grid actors |
| **Integrated architectural perspective (IAP)** | In SGIRM, one of three cross-cutting views of the smart grid: components and functions; information and communications; business and economics |

===== Perspectives =====

<WRAP perspectives>
==== 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 whether network architecture, logical control, and policy authority are aligned or diverge.((Kubeczko, K. (2017). //Die Rolle von Smart Grids in der Transition zu nachhaltigen Energiesystemen//. Keynote, IEA Vernetzungstreffen, Salzburg, 12 October 2017.))

@@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.

==== Technologies and infrastructure ====

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 — added in the 2023 revision to reflect distributed energy resources).((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.

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 runs 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_architecture: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 CEN-CENELEC-ETSI and the reference architecture for EU smart grid standardisation, represents grid architecture as a three-dimensional model across domains, zones, and interoperability layers.((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_architecture: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 one of these frameworks.

==== 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.))

<WRAP tablecap>
**Table 1.** Network architecture crossed with logical layer — resulting grid coordination types.\\
//Source: Kubeczko (2017), adapted.//
</WRAP>

^ Logical layer ^ ^ Network architecture ^ ^ ^
| ::: | ::: | **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>

===== Distinctions and overlaps =====

<WRAP distinction>
**Grid architecture vs grid operation**\\
Architecture frameworks 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 in the [[topics:operability|Operability]] topic.
</WRAP>

<WRAP distinction>
**SGAM vs SGIRM**\\
Both decompose the smart grid into layers and domains, but SGAM is the standard reference in European regulatory and standardisation contexts, developed under EU mandate M/490; SGIRM is the IEEE-based reference used primarily in North American contexts. The frameworks are compatible but not identical in structure.
</WRAP>

<WRAP distinction>
**Architecture framework vs interoperability standard**\\
A framework (GWAC, SGAM) is a conceptual structure for analysing and planning interoperability across system layers. A standard (e.g. IEC 61968, IEC 61970, IEEE 2030) defines specific technical requirements for how components communicate. Frameworks inform which standards are needed and where; standards specify the technical implementation.
</WRAP>

===== Related topics =====

[[topics:grid|Grid]] · [[topics:operability|Operability]] · [[topics:digitalisation|Digitalisation]] · [[topics:grid_edge|Grid edge]] · [[topics:energy_logistics|Energy logistics]] · [[topics:operator|Operator]]

~~DISCUSSION|Discussion — logged-in users only~~