How do electricity TSOs embrace innovation to navigate the energy transition?
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Biancardi, Andrea
Staffell, Iain
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Access to electricity is the lifeblood of modern society. Electricity grids are undergoing transformative changes, driven mainly by decarbonization, decentralization and the integration of variable renewables. Transmission System Operators (TSOs) face increasing pressures from these changes, yet the scale and pace of innovation required to overcome them remain largely unexplored. This study uses interviews with innovation leaders at 11 European TSOs to investigate their approaches to managing the energy transition, focusing on innovation strategies, technology adoption, and future visions. We find that many TSOs adopt decentralized innovation strategies, involving business lines in defining innovation needs and exploring digital and grid technologies to improve efficiency and flexibility. TSOs are using cross-sector collaborations with various decision-making and benchmarking tools to improve performance and better manage emerging technologies like non-wires alternatives. While TSOs seek to adopt new technologies, regulatory constraints, excessive bureaucracy, technology immaturity, skills gaps, and organizational cultural inertia are raised as key barriers. We argue that proactive engagement in innovation, supported by collaboration and regulatory changes could improve TSO resilience and agility. We highlight the importance of integrating innovation into the core strategy of TSOs and the critical need to modernize regulatory frameworks, originally designed for a very different historical context, to eliminate outdated constraints and enable TSOs to more effectively future-proof their organizations.
Date Issued
2025-05-01
Date Acceptance
2025-04-27
Citation
Energy Strategy Reviews, 2025, 59
ISSN
2211-467X
Publisher
Elsevier
Journal / Book Title
Energy Strategy Reviews
Volume
59
Copyright Statement
© 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
License URL
Identifier
10.1016/j.esr.2025.101746
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
101746
Date Publish Online
2025-05-06