The power sector is facing a paradigm change, moving from a centralized structure with big power plants (hydro, coal, gas and nuclear) leading the energy market to a decentralized scenario adopting distributed energy resources (DER), such as solar and wind. In this picture a new actor is emerging, the prosumer, i.e. households or organizations which at times produce surplus energy and feed it into a distribution network; whilst at other times (when their energy requirements outstrip their own production) they consume energy from that grid. The transition to a prosumer driven electrical grid can be quite bumpy.
The lack of a centralized planning and the increase of intermittent electricity production in the lower levels of the grid raise the stress on the electrical distribution grid and can lead to severe power quality problems, with which the distribution system operators (DSOs) need to cope. These problems are further emphasized by the increase of electricity consumption driven by the electrification of heat generation (heat pumps) and mobility (electric vehicles), which will tend to further increase power excursions in the distribution grid.
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