A modern Power SystemA critical societal System that, in the case of GW-scale gri... consists of an ultra-complex web of seven distinct, inter-dependent StructuresThe stable relationships, linkages and interdependencies tha.... Viewed from a whole-system perspective, the Power System is a Network of Structures that consists of:
a) Electricity Infrastructure (Power Flows)Infrastructures and subsystems that provide for the generati...;
b) Digital Infrastructure (Information/Data Exchange, Storage, and Processing)Infrastructures and subsystems that provide for all informat...;
c) Operational Coordination StructureInfrastructures and Subsystems that support the systematic o...;
d) Transactional StructureInfrastructures, Subsystems and formal processes that provid...;
e) Industry / Market StructureThe range of Entities involved in operating an end-to-end Po...;
f) Governance / Regulatory StructureThe range of Entities involved in the governance and regulat...; and,
g) Sector Coupling Structures (Gas, Water, Transport, etc)As decarbonisation advances, the proactive management of Int... .
Many of these structures have evolved progressively over several decades in the service of highly centralised, one-directional legacy Power System. As the functions of our Power System transform to enable a deeply decarbonised future, it is essential to recognise that these legacy structures contain hidden and overt interactions, cross-couplings and constraints which, if unaddressed, fundamentally impede change.
This is critically important as the underlying Structure of any complex SystemA set of Components that are formally related together by a ..., including that of GW-scale Power System, will always establish its essential limits and disproportionately impact what it can reliably and cost-effectively perform. Therefore, the Network of Structures paradigm enables whole-system analysis and mapping of the legacy structural constraints that impact the end-to-end system to enable targeted interventions to ensure the Power System is made future-ready.
