Distribution systems: their past, present, and future

Abstract

The development of distribution systems poses new challenges in the changing world, where levels of electrification need to be increased and electricity served reliably for sustainable economic and social development. Technological development and adequate regulations are required at the distribution level to respond to new energy challenges and the restructured environment. The need for a change in the way distribution systems are designed, planned, operated, and managed is a must for both developed and developing countries. This introductory article explains that this special issue of the IEEE Power & Energy magazine aims to show how this is dealt with in developed countries like the United States and the United Kingdom, in the fastest developing countries such as China and India, and in Latin America, the pioneer in power sector deregulation, with six articles reviewing the past, present, and the future of the distribution systems.