History of electricity network control and distributed generation in the UK and western Denmark

Providing distributed electricity within today's liberalized markets will require new innovations in intelligent IT-based network control. This paper draws on research on Large Technological Systems and control in other sectors in order to analyze the evolution of electricity network control in western Denmark and the UK during the post-War period. It concludes that network control has not yet been the kind of `reverse salient' preventing the development of the LTS. The western Danish example highlights the role of the `human factor' in control development, and the need for pragmatism in fostering innovation. Finally, while new intelligent control may help distribute risk more evenly among network participants, it may likewise produce new, systemic risks with unforeseeable impacts.