SmartGrids ETP Forum

The SmartGrids European Technology Platform produced its Vision paper in 2006, a Strategic Research Agenda in 2007.The draft SDD from November 2008 is finalized beginning of 2010. These documents were internationally recognized and were instrumental in putting smart electricity grids on the political agenda in the world.

With the SET Plan focus on concrete projects to jump start the deployment of the SmartGrids, the stakeholder forum has revisited its terms of reference and its structure. In particular, it will act as a catalytic meeting place coordinating developments, rather than a structure to set detailed agendas for all the SmartGrids actors.

Last developments in the Platform (meetings of Mirror Group and Advisory Council 19th-20th of May 2009) have resulted in a restructuring of the original internal organisation of the platform. The Advisory Council was formally dismissed. The working groups that were still active have been retained. The Mirror Group remains steady, waiting for future collaborations and interactions with Platform and other SET-PLAN related initiatives that eventually will define its need and role.

What is so far called the SmartGrids ETP Forum will substitute the previous Advisory Council and its Executive Group in taking the lead of the whole platform structure and setting the new programme of activities. This new structure has been established to support and lead the new role of the SmartGrids Platform. In the previous period the ETP SmartGrids main role was setting the vision and strategy for Europe’s electricity networks of the future and the role in the future will be of accompanying the deployment of this strategy.

The structure of the SmartGrids ETP Forum is an executive group of 12 individuals representing the various groups of stakeholders: TSO, Electrical systems manufacturers, DSO, ICT service providers, Regulation Metering manufacturers, Centralized generation, Customer interaction and metering, Renewable generation, Industrial R&D, Users, Academic and governmental R&D.

List of Stakeholders

Chairman: Ronnie Belmans K.U.LEUVEN-ELIA
1. TSO's will be represented by the new ENTSO-E and in particular by its secretary -general, Konstantin Staschus.
2. DSO: will be represented by the new group of DSO's being formed and by its leader, Livio Gallo, ENEL-Distribuzione.
3. Regulators: will be represented in a first instance by CEER/ERGEG, later by ACER. Tahir Kapetanovic.
4. Generation: will be represented by Eurelectric, and in particular by Hans Ten Berge. Gunnar Lorenz will act as Sherpa.
5. Renewables: will be represented by the EUREC organization , and Mr.Greg Arrowsmith.
6. Users: IFIEC. Peter Claes, secretary general has agreed
7. Electrotechnology equipment manufacturers: will be represented by T&D Europe Chair Bertrand Hugoo, and his sherpa Mikel Zaldunbide, ORMAZABAL
8. Customer Demand and Metering will link to the ETP WG3 and to the "ICT for Energy Efficiency" groups through their chair, Maher Chebbo, SAP.
9. Telecommunications will be represented by European Utilities Telecom Council and its chair, Miguel Angel Sanchez Fornie, IBERDROLA.
10. Metering manufacturers and systems will be represented by the recently created European Smart Metering Interest Group and its chair, Andreas Umbach and , John Harris acting as his sherpa.
11. Research and development within the electricity companies: will be represented by Yves Bamberger, Executive Vice-President, Head of Corporate EDF R&D.
12. Research institutes, governmental organizations, university institutes, education: Duncan Botting, Executive Chairman and Interim CEO at Scottish European Green Energy Centre.

SMARTGRIDS ETP FORUM STRATEGY:

•Advise and provide inputs to projects, initiatives, policy makers and other EU institutions (e.g. the SET-plan)
•Monitor and facilitate the deployment stage ensuring efficient use of resources both private and public (e.g. European Industrial Initiatives)
•Encourage timely attention to catalyst projects to ensure that potential technical, regulatory and commercial barriers are not over-looked.
•Identify and promote opportunities for collaboration at all stages in the innovation chain including access to funding sources (for instance European Institute of Technology EIT, Knowledge Innovation Communities KICK, EERA, or SETIS)
•Involve customers and increase awareness of SmartGrids value to society
•To continue building-up on technical working groups and provide potential response in setting-up other working groups or core advising groups that can reply to the requests from stakeholders and the European Commission