Background for the project is an emerging international trend towards more decentralized organisation of the electricity sector, meaning a stronger role for consumers in small-scale production of electricity and management of demand, and a more active role for local grid companies (distribution system operators - DSOs) in planning and governing the balancing of the grid.
The project will fill gaps in empirical knowledge about organizational development in the Norwegian electricity sector, contribute theoretically to assessing connection between regulation and sector organization, and uncover the causes of the recent evolution in electricity sector regulation.
Frameworks for assessing and explaining government regulation and links to organisational development are developed and applied for case studies of the Norwegian and Nordic electricity sector. This includes a Multilevel Governance approach which reflect that national electricity systems are governed by local- and central-level actors, and by national and EU regulations.
Hypotheses are generated from theory of Europeanization and public/private interest theories of regulation. Knowledge produced will be applied in a final assessment of factors that may condition the future choice of regulatory measures and organizational solutions for the Norwegian electicity sector.
Methods and expertise from various disciplines, political science, legal studies, and economics are brought in for this true interdisciplinary project.
