The shift towards an energy Grid dominated by prosumers (consumers and producers of energy) will inevitably have repercussions on the distribution infrastructure. Today it is a hierarchical one designed to deliver energy from large scale facilities to end-users. Tomorrow it will be a capillary infrastructure at the Medium and Low Voltage levels that will support local energy trading among prosumers. In [74], we analyzed the Dutch Power Grid and made an initial analysis of the economic impact topological properties have on decentralized energy trading. In this paper, we go one step further and investigate how dierent networks topologies and growth models facilitate the emergence of a decentralized market. In particular, we show how the connectivity plays an important role in improving the properties of reliability and pathcost reduction. From the economic point of view, we estimate how the topological evolutions facilitate local electricity distribution, taking into account the main cost ingredient required for increasing network connectivity, i.e., the price of cabling.
There has been much recent discussion on what distribution systems can and should look like in the future. Terms related to this discussion include smart grid, distribution system of the future, and others. Functionally, a smart grid should be able to provide new abilities such as self-healing, high reliability, energy management, and real-time pricing. From a design perspective, a smart grid will likely incorporate new technologies such as advanced metering, automation, communication, distributed generation, and distributed storage. This paper discussed the potential impact that issues related to smart grid will have on distribution system design.