This book supplies a vision of the future of electricity supply systems and CIGRE's views on the know-how needed to manage the transition towards them.



A variety of factors are driving a transition of electricity supply systems to new supply models, in particular, the emerging use of renewable sources, environmental factors, and developments in ICT technologies. These factors suggest that two models for power network development are possible, and not necessarily exclusive:



1. An increasing importance of large networks for bulk transmission capable of interconnecting load regions and large centralized renewable generation resources including offshore, as well as to provide more interconnections between the various countries and energy markets.



2. An emergence of clusters of small, largely self-contained distribution networks, which include decentralized local generation, energy storage and active customer participation intelligently managed so that they are operated as active networks providing local active and reactive support.



The most likely shape of the electricity supply systems of the future will include a mixture of the above two models, since additional bulk connections and active distribution networks are needed in order to reach ambitious environmental, economic and security-reliability targets. This book provides a concise and complete reference of the technological developments for futures electrical systems. It is written and reviewed by experts and chairmen of the sixteen Study Committees that form the Technical Council of CIGRE, the International Council on Large Electric Systems.