The electricity system is entering a period of rapid transformation as digitalization, distributed energy technologies, advanced power electronics, and real-time data flows blur long-standing boundaries between the grid’s edge, local distribution networks, and wholesale power markets. While these technological shifts create new possibilities for decentralized and hybrid forms of coordination, institutional and regulatory frameworks across the power system remain deeply fragmented—preserving separations that are increasingly misaligned with the physical realities of the grid. This growing tension introduces new complexity, risk, and opportunity as the power system evolves.
This 60-minute Virtual ACtioN Briefing reported out on a working group of the same name, organized by Seth Blumsack and Lynne Kiesling, and convened at the Santa Fe Institute. The briefing shared key questions, insights, and emerging themes from the group’s discussions, using complexity science as a lens to examine how converging technologies collide with divergent institutions—and what this means for the future governance of the power grid.
The full working group abstract can be found on the working group event page here.
Speakers
Seth BlumsackProfessor of Energy and Environmental Economics and International Affairs, Penn State, External Professor, SFI
Lynne KieslingDirector of the Institute for Regulatory Law & Economics, Faculty Fellow at Northwestern University, & SFI External ProfessorDiscussants
Jeff DennisCO2Efficient
Pat O’ConnellNM Public Regulation Commission