Moderated by Marcelo Leite Freire of the TCU – Tribunal de Contas da União (Brazil), ELECPOR’s Director General, Maria João Coelho, was on the panel, together with António Vidigal, Fabiano Carvalho of Neoenergia and Rui Gonçalves of E-redes, on the subject of “Technological and Regulatory Innovations in the Distribution Sector”.

In its presentation, ELECPOR stressed that the transition of energy from production to consumption is also a transition of the network.

In the electricity system, which is undergoing a paradigm shift from a traditional centralised model with unidirectional flow to a model with multiple generation sources and distributed resources, the distribution network is taking on a special role and increasing its responsibilities in this transition.

In this context, relevant data from the GridsforSpeed study developed by Eurelectric in partnership with EY were highlighted:

– Annual investments in grids need to double at European level (€67 billion per year between 2025 and 2050) to keep up with projected demand, integrate new generation and modernise and digitise infrastructure.

– Today, around 30 per cent of Europe’s distribution network assets are more than 40 years old; by 2030 this will be 40 per cent and by 2040 more than 80 per cent.

– Technological innovation is key, particularly in optimising the use of network capacity, intelligent network management and the introduction of demand-side flexibility.

– The need for anticipatory investment in network infrastructure – investment that “looks beyond the immediate needs of production or consumption, assuming that new generation and demand will occur in the future”.

For this transition to take place at the distribution level, regulatory action is needed, in particular to include mechanisms for anticipatory investment, to clarify the application of the concept of flexible connections (until it can become firm) or to simplify authorisation procedures.