NEW FRAMEWORK

For Forward-Looking Long-Term Planning of Smart Distribution Grids

ISGAN has developed this Framework to support key actors in the complex task of planning and developing smart, sustainable distribution grids for the future. Building upon the key messages of the ISGAN Policy Brief, this framework provides a structured approach to enhance understanding and facilitate the multilateral dialogue necessary to advance global distribution grid planning.

Its purpose is to help actors navigate system complexity and respond to multi-dimensional uncertainties. At its core, the Framework is a tool for fostering shared understanding and strengthening collaboration around common challenges in long-term distribution grid planning and implementation.

The Framework consists of three fundamental components:

Framework conditions underpinning a forward-looking planning process
Five phases of long-term planning and implementation
Key actor groups with formal roles and responsibilities in the planning process

Smart Distribution Grids Powering the Energy Transition

Actor Coordination & Collaboration

FRAMEWORK CONDITIONS
enabling a forward-looking planning process

Information & Knowledge Infrastructure

Legal & Governance Framework

The five PHASES of long-term planning

What forms of strategic intelligence are essential for making informed decisions
and deploying effective steering mechanisms in distribution grid planning? How can they be realized, and what are the related challenges? What specific knowledge is necessary to conduct thorough needs assessments?

Foresight and strategic intelligence play crucial roles in providing informed decisions for long-term strategic planning of future resilient distribution grids, particularly in uncertain and complex environments like those related to the ongoing energy transition and climate change. This phase is critical for ensuring that strategic decisions and plans are based on robust and actionable information, even if accurate predictions of future requirements for grids cannot be made.
By systematically incorporating foresight and strategic intelligence, actor groups with stakes in strategic grid planning can align decisions made today. Building on shared intelligence and stakeholder engagement will make decision-making more resilient, forward-looking, and adaptable to future challenges and opportunities. The aim is to reach a comprehensive understanding of needs and challenges for future resilient distribution grids, and to identify viable pathways on which the long-term grid planning can be based.

As groundwork for long-term strategic decision-making, foresight explores the economic, technological, institutional and policy landscape and based on this identifies potential pathways for the transition of the energy system and possible futures, allowing decision-makers to prepare for a range of options related to the reconfiguration of electricity grids. This initial phase provides the concrete data and analysis needed to navigate these futures effectively, analyzing trends and drivers in societal, technological, economic, environmental, and political context conditions.

Strategic intelligence provides the concrete data and analysis needed to navigate these futures effectively, analyzing trends and drivers about societal, technological, economic, ecological and political context conditions. Key Activities - Data Collection and Analysis: Strategic intelligence to collect qualitative and quantifiable data and identifying future energy trends and drivers of change in all landscape dimensions (including demographic and environmental changes, as well as emerging technologies) in horizon scanning and other analytical methods dealing with assessment of uncertainties and risks. - Long-term Scenario Development: Explore potential scenarios and develop multiple future pathways to anticipate different outcomes and challenges as basis for strategic decision making and planning. - Actor and Stakeholder Engagement: Process to engage with key actors and experts, to gather insights, align perspectives and orchestrate long-term visions, decisions and plans. Outcome: A strategic foresight report in preparation of strategic decision-making in the next phase and guides following strategic and operational planning processes .

Who is involved

Key issues to consider

Explore ISGAN Materials Relevant for this Phase

What strategic decisions are necessary within each actor’s organization to determine how grid plans are developed? How should these strategic decisions- essential for establishing an adequate framework for long-term planning and implementation, be made and formulated?

In this phase, each actor or organization with a mandate and responsibility for strategic long-term grid planning is advised to formulate a clear strategic position, which is ideally based on the shared intelligence and participatory foresight processes from the first phase of the long-term planning. This includes - in line with the organization’s mission and mandate - defining how the future grid should be developed and what a new configuration of the grid infrastructure should look like. This involves setting strategic priorities, making long-term investment decisions, and ensuring compliance with relevant policy frameworks.

Each actor or actor group must focus on making informed decisions that shape the long-term direction of grid development, particularly in terms of how the grid can serve actors at the grid edge. This requires analyzing multiple scenarios and potential development pathways, from their perspective, and selecting the most appropriate course of action to ensure the grid’s future resilience, sustainability, and efficiency.
Scenarios and pathways towards future smart grids can be informed by insights and learnings from the stakeholder coordination and engagement process in the Foresight phase. This phase benefits from shared understanding and narratives between actor groups, which helps facilitate coordination and cooperation toward common strategic goals.

The objective of this phase is to define a clear strategic direction for grid development from the perspective of each actor. This includes deciding how to prioritize investments and initiatives that align with both the organization’s long-term needs and the broader interests of stakeholders. Strategic decisions concern both the overall network planning (e.g., determining required capacity) as well as more specific decisions on how to ensure access to that capacity. These decisions should incorporate criteria for resilience and guarantee access to electricity as a universal basic service or essential services respectively, for all households and businesses at the grid edge. Key Activities - Identify strategic options: Identify strategic options for developing future smart grids from the perspective of involved actor-organizations, building on the strategic intelligence collected and the results from the Foresight phase. - Multi-Criteria Analysis: Assess alternative planning options based on multiple criteria, including technical, financial, social, and policy dimensions. - Risk Assessment: Assess risks and uncertainties associated with various strategic decisions, prepare for resiliency measures, or eliminate non-viable options. - Policy Alignment: Ensure that decisions align with national and regional energy policies and regulatory frameworks, as well as with those of other stakeholders. - Strategic guidelines: Develop basic principles and guidelines for subsequent phases in the long-term planning process. This involves setting strategic priorities, making investment decisions, and ensuring policy compliance. Outcome A strategic document or White Paper, which serves as foundation and guidance for the strategic and long-term planning of the organization in alignment with other actor groups and stakeholders. This should provide in-depth analysis of trends and drivers, and identify potential opportunities and threats. Thus, it can help inform the strategic direction and consequences for the forthcoming steps in the planning process.

Who is involved

Key issues to consider

Explore ISGAN Materials Relevant for this Phase

By conducting thorough long-term grid planning and evaluating different options that meet the identified development needs, planners lay the foundation for robust, sustainable grid development informed by foresight and strategic intelligence.

Alternatives to grid-only investments, such as demand- and production-side flexibility and smart grid technologies, should be considered to ensure cost-efficient grid expansion. In some cases, these alternatives may be the only realistic way to meet rapidly increasing demand in time.

By evaluating whether potential solutions comply with technical standards and regulatory requirements, grid planners gain confidence that the proposed solutions for assessment meet the fundamental criteria defined for ensuring security of supply, power quality, and resilience. Key Activities - Determine grid capacity needs: Often based on scenario analysis (from the Foresight phase), also including known connection requirements and reinvestment needs. - Identify appropriate grid development options: Performed through various studies that identify solutions capable of meeting the identified needs in an affordable, sustainable, and reliable way. Outcome Concrete options able to meet identified grid development needs. Forms the foundation for the long-term grid development plan that provides the basis for formal reporting, approval, and decision-making.

Who is involved

Key issues to consider

What are the key prerequisites for identifying and formulating options in concrete long-term grid planning that align with development needs while adhering to regulatory and organizational frameworks?

Long-term planning elaborates the grid development plan by preparing one or more technical solutions that address identified grid development needs. These solutions must ensure the technical integrity and reliability of the grid, as well as compliance with relevant technical standards and regulations. Long-term planning also assesses the financial implications of the proposed solutions and the associated risks. It should build on the basic principles and strategic priorities outlined in the strategic guidance developed in the previous phase. The resulting plan forms the basis for formal reporting, approval, and decision-making.

Explore ISGAN Materials Relevant for this Phase

What factors and criteria should be taken into account, and how should they be weighed during the assessment and decision-making process of available options?
How can a sound assessment and decision-making process be realized, and what are the related challenges?

Performing a comprehensive, well-founded ex-ante assessment of detailed options provides decision-makers with the evidence and decision support needed to initiate the investment and implementation process. The assessment builds on the concrete options prepared in the preceding long-term planning phase.

Since distribution grid development is a crucial part of infrastructure and plays a critical role in the energy transition, it is essential that plans are based on well-founded decisions that consider a wide range of factors.

Key factors include the economic, social, and environmental dimensions of grid development, along with uncertainties, risks, and resilience considerations.

The criteria used in the assessment, and how they are prioritized, represent important strategic decisions. Key Activities - Assessment of grid development options: Thorough evaluation of available options, considering their potential and impact across multiple criteria and dimensions. Tools for assessment include Cost-Benefit Analysis and Multi-Criteria Analysis. Methods must be available for both traditional grid reinforcement and alternative solutions, and must allow for fair comparison. - Decision-making for implementation: Strategic guidance should be provided on how to weigh and prioritize criteria when assessing the available options. - Stakeholder consideration: The potential impact of decisions on different stakeholders should be clearly understood and appropriately taken into account. Outcome A grid development decision that initiates the investment and implementation process.

Who is involved

Key issues to consider

Explore ISGAN Materials Relevant for this Phase

What aspects require special attention when implementing the chosen option(s) for distribution grid development?

The implementation phase puts the chosen grid development option(s) into action. This includes several substages, including the preparation of more detailed designs. Implementation of solutions must ensure the grid’s technical integrity, resilience, and reliability, as well as compliance with relevant standards and regulations.

To develop a sustainable distribution grid that enables grid operators to manage future challenges, it is important to implement resilient solutions that support secure operation despite increasing uncertainties.
An enhanced level of digitalization in the distribution grid provides opportunities for improved visualization and control. However, it also introduces increased challenges, such as cyber security and personal data protection.

Standards-based solutions and procedures are important factors to consider during implementation, as they enable future grid development and help ensure interoperable and trustworthy solutions. Key Activities - Secure financing: Ensure that all parts of the solution’s realization have viable financing. - Permit-granting process: Prepare and apply for all required permits. - Detailed design of the solutions: Conduct more thorough studies and design work for the solutions, which can be technical and/or market-based. This includes the design of control, protection, and information systems. - Contracts and procurement: Prepare contracts and procure the necessary materials and services. - Deployment: Plan and execute deployment, including stage approvals (e.g., Factory Acceptance Tests), personnel and onsite management, documentation, and handover of the final commissioned installation. - Stakeholder engagement: Engage with relevant stakeholders, including those involved in granting permissions and those connected to the transmission or sub-transmission grid. Outcome Finalized technical and/or market-based solutions in place, modernizing the distribution grid to meet identified needs.

Who is involved

Key issues to consider

Explore ISGAN Materials Relevant for this Phase

2.Strategig Decision-making. Knowledge hub

Smart Distribution Grids Powering the Energy Transition.Knowledge hub

NEW FRAMEWORK

For Forward-Looking Long-Term Planning of Smart Distribution Grids

Actor Coordination & Collaboration

FRAMEWORK CONDITIONS
enabling a forward-looking planning process

Information & Knowledge Infrastructure

Legal & Governance Framework

The five PHASES of long-term planning

What forms of strategic intelligence are essential for making informed decisions
and deploying effective steering mechanisms in distribution grid planning? How can they be realized, and what are the related challenges? What specific knowledge is necessary to conduct thorough needs assessments?

What strategic decisions are necessary within each actor’s organization to determine how grid plans are developed? How should these strategic decisions- essential for establishing an adequate framework for long-term planning and implementation, be made and formulated?

What are the key prerequisites for identifying and formulating options in concrete long-term grid planning that align with development needs while adhering to regulatory and organizational frameworks?

What factors and criteria should be taken into account, and how should they be weighed during the assessment and decision-making process of available options?
How can a sound assessment and decision-making process be realized, and what are the related challenges?

What aspects require special attention when implementing the chosen option(s) for distribution grid development?

Subscribe to our newsletter!

Follow us on LinkedIn!

NEW FRAMEWORK

For Forward-Looking Long-Term Planning of Smart Distribution Grids

Actor Coordination & Collaboration

FRAMEWORK CONDITIONS enabling a forward-looking planning process

Information & Knowledge Infrastructure

Legal & Governance Framework

The five PHASES of long-term planning

What forms of strategic intelligence are essential for making informed decisions and deploying effective steering mechanisms in distribution grid planning? How can they be realized, and what are the related challenges? What specific knowledge is necessary to conduct thorough needs assessments?

Subscribe to our newsletter!

Follow us on LinkedIn!

FRAMEWORK CONDITIONS
enabling a forward-looking planning process

What forms of strategic intelligence are essential for making informed decisions
and deploying effective steering mechanisms in distribution grid planning? How can they be realized, and what are the related challenges? What specific knowledge is necessary to conduct thorough needs assessments?