IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - January/February 2015 - 59

key performance indicators (KPIs), as developed through
the EU-funded GRID+ project
✔✔ benchmark 1% of turnover for investment in R&D
activities by 2020
✔✔ assign relevant research-experienced staff to identify
R&D priorities, participate in projects, and prepare proposals for EU or national funding application processes.
Enhancing TSO/ENTSO-E and DSO/EDSO
Cooperation with Other Actors

Second, TSOs and DSOs have a major role to play when it
comes to the integration of new technologies into the European power system. Equipment manufacturers from the electricity grid and generation sectors are developing solutions
for energy system integration, and if unguided, this can lead
to solutions that are insufficiently adapted to the European
context. Another side effect of this process is that a rushed
rollout of the technologies can lead to closed or incompatible
systems whose technologies do not meet new standards or
minimum requirements. The steps needed and that for the
most part are being taken through the EEGI, include:
✔✔ positioning TSOs and DSOs at the core of a European
R&D strategy for the development of the European
electricity system, facilitated by their European associations, ENTSO-E and EDSO
✔✔ involving all relevant actors in the energy chain to
ensure that the R&D approach is truly holistic and
integrated, guiding other stakeholders to develop solutions that will benefit the entire European energy system and society as a whole
✔✔ ensuring the cost-effectiveness and interoperability of
the developed solutions, e.g., through participation in
European standardization initiatives.
Guiding the Development of a New R&D
Regulatory Framework

Third, TSOs and DSOs through ENTSO-E and EDSO can continue to help inform an R&D regulatory framework in line with
European and regional power systems developments. To have panEuropean rules and guidelines would induce a leveraging effect on
system development and deployment. Dedicated R&D expenses
recognized by the regulators would enable an effective investment
in R&D activities. This approach will also enable full transparency and accountability, since the R&D activities would have to be
approved by the regulators. Moreover, relying on fragmented and
incompatible projects to answer the urgent needs of the European
electricity system by 2020 and beyond could lead to the need for
greater total investments as well as delays in the delivery of acceptable systemwide results. On the other hand, being able to rely on
regulatory funding should not detract from the work going on at
European level that addresses the important questions of replicability in other member states and the interoperability of solutions.
The measures that could be envisaged include:
✔✔ developing a European guidance document for and with
regulatory authorities, potentially through ENTSO-E,
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EDSO, CEER, ACER, and the EC, and thus providing a
common framework for integrating R&D activities into
tariff structures; such a guide should include the introduction of KPIs for R&D projects, the actions based on
R&D plans and reflecting TSO and DSO network needs,
the priorities for the development of European solutions
that take into account the entire electricity system and the
estimation of the delivery of results to the market.

Conclusion
There is a disconnect between the ambitions of the EU for
Europe's electricity power grids and the national regulatory
frameworks and government funding for R&D that will help us
to actually ready our electricity networks for the future. Placing
consumers and society-wide benefits at the core of the European power system is paramount. R&D activities for electricity networks financed with the support of energy regulators and
combining the networks' own financial resources with national
and European R&D funds will ensure the development of this
future energy system in a transparent and cost-effective manner.
Such a process will also ensure that the needed level of investment in research activities for the electricity grids is secured and
that regulatory and new-technology developments support each
other and work in harmony. There are many initiatives heading
in the right direction at the European level that can contribute
to arriving at the desired destination, although further alignment
between the principal decision-making entities at the EU and
national levels is required.

For Further Reading
European Commission. (2014, Oct.). Grid plus project, RSE,
"Gap Analysis." [Online]. Available: http://www.gridplus.eu
ENTSO-E. (2012). ENTSO-E R&D Roadmap. [Online]. Available: www.entsoe.eu
P. Agrell and D. Benintendi. (2013). THOR project "Regulatory funding of transmission system research and development in ENTSO-E countries." [Online]. Available: http://www.
sumicsid.com/reg/papers/thor_white_paper_final.pdf
European Commission, Communication on energy infrastructure priorities for 2020 and beyond-A blueprint for an integrated European energy network, COM 2010/0677, 2010.
European Electricity Grid Initiative (EEGI). (2013, Jan.).
Research and Innovation Roadmap 2013-2022. [Online]. Available: http://www.gridplus.eu/Documents/20130228_EEGI%20
Roadmap%202013-2022_to%20print.pdf
JRC. (2014). Smart Grid Projects Outlook 2014. [Online].
Available: http://ses.jrc.ec.europa.eu/smart-grids-observatory

Biographies
Angelo Ferrante is with Terna SpA, Rome, Italy.
Norela Constantinescu is with ENTSO-E, Brussels, Belgium.
Joana Abreu Jackson is with EDSO for Smart Grids,
Brussels, Belgium.
p&e
ieee power & energy magazine

http://www.gridplus.eu http://www.entsoe.eu http://www http://www.sumicsid.com/reg/papers/thor_white_paper_final.pdf http://www.gridplus.eu/Documents/20130228_EEGI http://ses.jrc.ec.europa.eu/smart-grids-observatory

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