Impact of dispersed generation on distribution systems: a European perspective

This paper discusses the regulatory, commercial and technical issues relevant for the development of the environment in which distribution network and distributed generation businesses will operate in the European electricity market. The primary function of the distribution network is now changing from an electricity delivery role to a facilitator of competition in generation and supply. This is believed to be critical for distributed generation to access the energy market and compete with central generation. This will inevitably lead to unbundling of distribution network services and this paper discusses a how distributed generation may interact with distribution network operation.