Grid resilience governance of the future: Analyzing the role of associations in experimental smart grid projects in the Netherlands

Abstract

Local generation decentralizes urban grids. Soon new actors, such as associations, might enter the traditional energy domain. As electrical grids are critical for society, new actors will need to collaborate with other city-level stakeholders to ensure proper grid functioning in times of crisis. Little research has been done about how this collaboration could look like for smart grid projects. This short paper presents for discussion initial analysis on how associations as new actors might approach establishing such collaborations to improve grid resilience. We focus on advances in Dutch governance related to local energy planning projects. First, we outline which stakeholders are currently concerned with grid resilience in the Netherlands. Then, we introduce how innovative smart grid projects can be organized and describe the role of associations within them. Finally, we apply the Institutional Analysis and Development Framework (IAD) to point out what associations might consider to improve grid resilience.