Recent Trends and Developments in Grid Modernization

The electric power systems around the world are undergoing an unprecedented transformation prompted by the need to comply with new technology deployment trends, environmental concerns, new weather patterns, changing consumer needs, and regulatory requirements. In 2017 Innovative Smart Grid Technologies Conference (ISGT) 23 - 26 April 2017 the US, this evolution has been clustered and described under various terms, including smart grid, grid of the future, grid modernization, and utility of the future, which emphasize the need to build an intelligent grid that can be monitored and controlled in real-time to allow for providing a reliable, safe, and secure service and empower customers to actively participate and benefit from greater and more diverse market opportunities and services. Building this intelligent grid is a monumental task (particularly on the distribution and grid-edge sides which are vast and heterogeneous) that has led to the emergence of new concepts, technologies, and paradigms.