A literature survey on Smart Grid distribution: an analytical approach

Many different technologies have been growing under the umbrella of Smart Grids, which can be split into three major blocks: generation, transmission, and distribution. Generation and transmission have been evolving and improving as they have been under the control of utility companies, but distribution has been lagging behind on some of these improvements, due to the number of stakeholders involved in the process. With the integration of information and communication technology into the electricity distribution, there has been a spike in research and other studies to prepare for the future. In this paper, we analyzed all papers related to the topics of Smart Grids and Distribution. Because of the novelty of the concept, the results validate the expectation of an empirical approach in papers using case studies to simulate or conduct pilot runs of the technologies before their massive implementations. Strategies are mostly driven by the USA, while other countries are focusing on quality improvements of the already strategized initiatives with an efficiency-related goal in mind. Consumer participation is going to play a key role in the near future as it requires developing a new business model with the inclusion of self-generation and selling-back of excess capacity to the utility company. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.