Project R-16867

DIstribution NEtwork Management Optimization (DINEMO) (Research)

The transition to a more sustainable energy sector, which is crucial to achieve the European Union's climate and competitiveness goals, has led to a surge in investments in renewable energy generation and in the electrification of industrial and residential power demand. However, systemic bottlenecks are slowing down present and future investments. One major issue is due to the fact that additional electricity demand and/or generation can only be connected to the power grid (and thus be used) if the grid is able to support these extra connections without compromising the safety and quality of the power it delivers to citizens and industry. If (part of) the grid cannot do this because it has reached its safe capacity limit, it is defined as "congested". Due to the recent acceleration in the energy transition, congestion is a problematic reality in many European countries and the capacity of the power system is rapidly exhausting. As a result, new connection requests are either denied by the network operator, or placed in (in general, increasingly long) connection queues, that may stall projects and investments for multiple years, and jeopardize the achievement of climate targets. This project addresses these bottlenecks through multidisciplinary research that spans electrical engineering, energy economics, energy regulation and energy law. While power transmission systems face congestion and queue issues, too, we focus on distribution. Distribution networks present unique features, including a large number of relatively small and diverse connected users, which poses specific challenges in terms of mathematical modelling and computational effort, as well as legal, economic and regulatory needs. Expected project results include power system calculation tools for improved capacity calculations and queue management, as well as recommendations on efficient, effective and fair tariff design, legislative and regulatory frameworks at regional, national and EU level.

01 October 2026 - 30 September 2030