Smart grids. Socioeconomic value and optimal flexibility portfolios. June 2017. RTE's contribution - Abridged Report + Summary

This report is RTE's contribution to the public authorities' request. It provides a summary of the analyses carried out, in consultation with the stakeholders, and supplements the information contained in the July 2015 report on the socioeconomic value of smart grid solutions, in particular: - by refining and updating a number of assumptions (characteristics of the services provided by smart grid solutions, costs, etc.) using feedback that has been available since July 2015 and contributions from the sector's stakeholders, and by assessing the sensitivity of the results to those assumptions which are the most hotly debated and about which there is the most uncertainty; - by expanding the scope of the smart grid solutions studied to include power storage and various demand-side response solutions in particular, and factoring in - for residential demand - the types of usage management made possible by smart meters which are in the process of being deployed; - by transitioning from analyses focusing on limited scale 'solution by solution' deployments (on the margins of the system) to ones which take more of the flexibility potential into account, as well as the effects of deployment levels on economic value and the effects of competition between various smart grid solution, ultimately recommending economic efficient multi-solutions deployment scenarios. - by supplementing the analyses conducted in relation to future contexts (the situation in 2030) with assessments of the current situation. This way, the time frames for which the deployment of smart grid solutions is appropriate can be identified; - by factoring in life-cycle analysis into environmental assessments, in order - for example - to assess the influence of place of manufacture.