The impact of the National Regulatory Policies on Smart Grid Advancement in Europe

The development of electricity smart grids at national level is one of the most discussed topics in Europe nowadays: the need of a transition towards a decarbonized economy, the depletion of non-renewable sources of energy and the need of urgent actions to combat the impact of climate change have indeed given this topic more and more relevance. Due to this, the smart grid field and specifically the distribution level of it results the one that is requiring the highest level of investments in Europe. Furthermore, many empirical papers have widely recognized that national regulation plays a key role in the development of smart grids, that without a stable regulatory framework able to spur its deployment, would not have reason to exist. The main task of this work is to explore the impact of the national regulatory frameworks on the development of smart grids. The work is implemented by firstly providing an overview about the type of regulatory frameworks for distribution system operators implemented in Europe over the last decades. After that, a policy analysis about the smart grid related policies implemented at national level will be undertaken: thirdly, through a qualitative comparative analysis the results achieved in the previous phases will be interlinked, with the purpose of understanding if a specific connection exists between the adopted regulatory framework and the smart distribution development. The results of such analysis can help understanding the effectiveness of the different regulatory frameworks that might be chosen by national regulators, identifying potential strengths and weaknesses of the diverse models for spurring risky and uncertain activities like those related to smart grid