Grid Resilience Governance of the Future: Analyzing the Role of Associations in Experimental Smart Grid Projects in The Netherlands

Local generation decentralizes urban grids. Soon new actors, such as associations, might enter the traditional energy domain. As electrical grids are critical for society, new actors will need to collaborate with other city-level stakeholders to ensure proper grid functioning in times of crisis. Little research has been done about how this collaboration could look like for smart grid projects. This short paper presents for discussion initial analysis on how associations as new actors might approach establishing such collaborations to improve grid resilience. We focus on advances in Dutch governance related to local energy planning projects. First, we outline which stakeholders are currently concerned with grid resilience in the Netherlands. Then, we introduce how innovative smart grid projects can be organized and describe the role of associations within them. Finally, we apply the Institutional Analysis and Development Framework (IAD) to point out what associations might consider to improve grid resilience.

[1]  Elinor Ostrom,et al.  An Institutional Framework for Policy Analysis and Design , 1999 .

[2]  Fang Zheng Peng,et al.  Control for Grid-Connected and Intentional Islanding Operations of Distributed Power Generation , 2011, IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics.

[3]  Andrea Ceccarelli,et al.  A Hazus-Based Method for Assessing Robustness of Electricity Supply to Critical Smart Grid Consumers during Flood Events , 2016, 2016 11th International Conference on Availability, Reliability and Security (ARES).

[4]  Sandford Bessler,et al.  Towards a collaborative framework to improve urban grid resilience , 2016, 2016 IEEE International Energy Conference (ENERGYCON).

[5]  G. Hardin,et al.  The Tragedy of the Commons , 1968, Green Planet Blues.

[6]  E. Ostrom.  Background on the Institutional Analysis and Development Framework , 2011 .

[7]  R. Hinde,et al.  Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action Collective Action , 2010 .

[8]  E. Ostrom.  Doing Institutional Analysis Digging Deeper Than Markets and Hierarchies , 2005 .

[9]  M. Wolsink.  The research agenda on social acceptance of distributed generation in smart grids: Renewable as common pool resources , 2012 .

[10]  Lorena Montoya,et al.  Analysing non-malicious threats to urban smart grids by interrelating threats and threat taxonomies , 2016, 2016 IEEE International Smart Cities Conference (ISC2).

[11]  Imke Lammers,et al.  Experimenting with Law and Governance for Decentralized Electricity Systems: Adjusting Regulation to Reality? , 2017 .

[12]  A. Koster.  An Institutional Approach to Understanding Energy Transitions , 2013 .