EDSO for Smart Grids welcomes new members and enters the Global Smart Grids Federation (GSGF)
October 5th 211, Brussels – With the year 2020 closing in, when the EU is to meet the energy targets, and much work still to be done to deploy the low carbon technologies needed, the contribution from Distribution System Operators is becoming more and more crucial.
The European DSOs in EDSO for Smart Grids strongly confirm their willingness to contribute to the challenges, where we can see the need to:
- support innovation, where we can develop key projects and assess their scalability and replication potential throughout Europe,
- call for national regulatory incentives, adequate for Smart Grids deployment,
- closely collaborate with ENTSO-E on connection criteria, vital to master the massive integration of renewable energy sources and closely linked to DSO operation.
To reap the benefits and develop this as efficiently as possible from a customer point of view, we also see the need to open up for wide collaboration, where we can develop common solutions and standards, exchange knowledge and good experiences. In this context we are very pleased to announce two new EDSO members, EDSO membership of the Global Smart Grids Federation and the start of the Commission’s project on supporting the development of the European Electricity Grids Initiative, project where EDSO is the leading distribution network partner.
“We are pleased to welcome Sibelga, a Belgian distribution system operator, and CEDEC, the European Federation of Local Energy Companies: EDSO for Smart Grids is growing and the smart grids community will benefit more and more from this DSO collaboration”, commented Per-Olof Granström, Secretary General of EDSO for Smart Grids. ”Moreover, we are joining the Global Smart Grids Federation, together with the GridWise Alliance, India Smart Grid Forum, Japan Smart Community Alliance and Smart Grid Australia, in view of exchanging and replicating best practices on smart grids development on a global scale”.
“EDSO for Smart Grids is pleased that the Commission’s so called Grid+ project on supporting the development of the European Electricity Grids Initiative, (EEGI), is now starting. This project is a unique effort of the smart grids community to support the EEGI and foster smart grids economic viability in view of the final roll-out: the sole way to reach the 20-20-20 targets by 2020.”, commented Livio Gallo, Chairman of EDSO for Smart Grids.
EDSO for Smart Grids, representing 27 leading Distribution System Operators in 16 countries in the EU – amounting to approx. 70 per cent of the points of supply, will in close cooperation with the European Commission and the European electricity industry monitor and contribute to moving Smart Grids from vision to reality.
