Smart Grids after the Third Liberalization Package: Current Developments and Future Challenges for Regulatory Policy in the Electricity Sector

The smart grid is a concept for the development of power distribution grids that
offers great promise for the realization of the ambitious objectives of European
Energy Policy. In its Third Energy Liberalization Package, European energy law
has introduced the concept of intelligent grids and intelligent metering systems.
A new directive of EPBD (energy performance of buildings) is to press ahead
with this trend. At the same time work is underway at the European Commission
and with European Regulators concerning standardization and the new shape of
regulatory policy in the implementation stage. The EU legislation and regulatory
policy of the National Regulatory Authorities will have to take into consideration
the current trends in the modernization of the networks. Among other things, this
means revising the existing regulatory model, and that will have to take into account
the performance and output of industry networks.