SecurEL is a Centre for Environment-friendly Energy Research (FME), funded for eight years by the Research Council of Norway. It aims to enhance the security of electricity supply by maximising grid utilisation in a secure, resilient, and sustainable way. The Research Centre aims to develop new knowledge addressing research challenges arising from accelerated electrification and increased use of the existing grid.
While SecurEL is led by SINTEF Energy, The Fridtjof Nansen Institute is an important partner responsible for most of the social science work in the centre. We will analyse how social aspects such as regulatory measures and sector practices impact the development of the distribution grid and security of supply. We will do policy analyses of regulations and their effects on company practices and innovative policy solutions to SoS challenges, including risk. Key regulatory measures will be identified, e.g., economic incentive regulations and direct requirements such as system responsibilities and planning requirements; based on policy analysis and interviews with grid company representatives we will shed light on how these measures influence SoS directly, and how they interact with distribution grid management practices of relevance. Explanations will also emphasise factors affecting DSO practices and perceptions related to handling of risks in grid operations, and interactions with key stakeholders (such as DSO-TSO). Realistic options that shape grid framework conditions will be investigated, e.g., political feasibility, including fairness, of such innovative measures.
Project period: 2025-2032
