We are pleased to inform you that the executive summary of India KTP workshop is now available for download as attached.

ISGAN Policy Messages for CEM

The purpose of this report is to give an account of a collaborative International Smart Grid Action Network (ISGAN) and the 21st Century Power Partnership (21 CPP) project focusing on
Mexico’s path towards smart grids and grid modernization. This report describes the programme of events and gives a summary of conclusions from an interactive knowledge exchange workshop and public conference that took place 17–19 August 2016 in Mexico City.

Smart grid technologies offer new options for integrating variable RE, yet technology is not the only important area of focus—innovative policy, regulation, and business models are needed to incentivize and implement next-generation grid architectures.

This discussion paper explores the intersection of smart grid technology, policy, and regulation from a non-technical point of view, focusing on some specific questions relevant for decision makers:

• What are the challenges of integrating variable RE into power grids?
• What types of smart grid solutions are emerging to integrate variable RE?
• What are good examples from around the world of smart grids aiding in the integration of variable RE?
• What types of policy and regulatory approaches are emerging to support smart grid solutions in relation to RE?

Based on emerging case studies from around the world, this discussion paper concludes that smart grids offer solutions to various challenges associated with variable RE, including
providing additional flexibility, unlocking demand side participation, and deferring more costly grid upgrades.

Questions relevant for decision makers:

• What are the challenges of integrating variable RE into power grids?
• What types of smart grid solutions are emerging to integrate variable RE?
• What are good examples from around the world of smart grids aiding in the integration of variable RE?
• What types of policy and regulatory approaches are emerging to support smart grid solutions in relation to RE?
• Based on emerging case studies from around the world, this discussion paper concludes that smart grids offer solutions to various challenges associated with variable RE, including providing additional flexibility, unlocking demand side participation, and deferring more costly grid upgrades.

This report is an update of a 2012 ISGAN Annex 4 report entitled “Smart Grid Contributions to Variable Renewable Resource Integration.”

The diversity of islands of developing and developed nations offers a unique opportunity to demonstrate how deploying large amounts of intermittent renewable energy sources (RES) within smart grid architectures tailored to local energy contexts can be a cost-effective complement, and even an alternative, to current fossil-fuel solutions.

This paper, authored by Annex 4: Synthesis Insights for Decision Makers, covers the following topics:

• The energy supply challenges faced by islands
• Ways in which renewable energy technologies can improve sustainable electricity supply
• Ways in which smart grid technologies can help enable the integration of large amounts of intermittent RES
• Lessons learned from demonstration projects in islands
• The importance of island systems in the global context of clean energy systems in developing and developed countries.

This is a key risk area that must be addressed for successful implementation. In this context, it is worth briefly reviewing conventional methods of cost-benefit analysis and mechanisms for cost recovery with a greater focus on the consumer side of the equation, as the underlying values and processes will inform new cost allocation methods for smart grid investments.

ISGAN brings the experience and perspective of the global Smart Grids community together in this paper in order to increase understanding of the costs and benefits of smart grids from a consumer perspective, so that they may be communicated more widely and more effectively.

This paper, authored by Annex 4: Synthesis Insights for Decision Makers, attempts to address these issues across a range of likely possible smart grid configurations and market structures, while acknowledging that many other technology configurations are possible. In light of the continuing evolution of the smart grid, cost allocation will be an ongoing subject of ISGAN research and analysis, and this white paper aims to provide a framework for this ongoing analysis.

The need for new balancing resources and for a “seamless grid” capable of integrating both large-scale and small distributed energy resources (DER) are among the driving forces of smart grid development. Smarter grids are an important enabling tool for achieving higher penetrations of VRR on transmission and distribution networks. Depending upon the relative share and geographic distribution of large-scale and DER resources, various technologies, regulations, and policies are required to support high levels of VRR generation. In this context, policy makers will benefit from an understanding of how smart grid technologies contribute to VRR integration, and all stakeholders will benefit from increased alignment between smart grid development roadmaps and national and regional visions for renewable energy development.

The objective of this report, authored by Annex 4: Synthesis Insights for Decision Makers, is to give insights for decision makers on the various contributions of smart grid systems in achieving VRR integration. A variety oftools and solutions exist for achieving high penetrations of VRR generation, and the smart grid solutions outlined in this report are considered alongside a range of integration best practices.

Significant policy gaps exist in the field of grid cyber security, and ISGAN is well-positioned to convene stakeholders and foster discussion to advance best practices that support innovation while protecting critical infrastructure and consumer data privacy. This report, authored by Annex 4: Synthesis Insights for Decision Makers, identifies key issues in cyber security policy design, and suggests potential collaborations for the ISGAN membership.