Nowadays the energy system needs a clear technological paradigm shift from fossil fuel power generation technologies to technologies for power generation from renewable sources, with the involvement of all those resources that are small in size and widespread at the lower voltage levels of the grid.

This evolution must be accompanied by an equally consistent paradigm shift in the rules governing the operation of the energy system, so as to create the most favorable framework for the desired change. In this context, continuing on the path already started in the previous three-year System Research period and also considering the results of international research and experiments (e.g., Horizon-funded projects), the project aims to study the regulation of existing energy systems and various proposals for its evolution, in order to assess its impact in terms of effectiveness with respect to the objectives to be achieved.

To this end, the project is outlined as follows.

WP 1 is devoted to regulatory and quantitative studies and analyses designed to:

• study the current configuration of energy markets,
• evaluate the impact of the proposed changes under the current market configuration,
• present hypotheses of innovative configurations and their impact on the energy system,
• study the interaction between energy systems (sector coupling) and the impacts on markets.

Part of the activities of this WP are in support of and supported by the Italian (ARERA) and European (ACER) regulators and the Italian Ministry of Environment and Energy Security (MASE).

WP 2 focuses on the study of:

• the evolution of the role of the Distributor,
• the ways in which Distribution-related resources participate in the energy system;
• the possibility of the provision of ancillary services to the electricity system by distributed generation resources that exploit different energy carriers (GDMES).