Digitalization in decarbonizing electricity systems – Phenomena, regional aspects, stakeholders, use cases, challenges and policy options
Open accessAbstract
Digitalization is a megatrend that affects and transforms societal, economic, and environmental processes on a global scale. Driven by a combination of technological advances as well as shifting societal demands, digitalization also affects the operation and planning of the electricity sector. This paper uses megatrend analysis framework to analyze digitalization phenomena, its regional differences, technologies, use cases and challenges. It highlights potential system-level benefits (e.g., increased efficiency, transparency, consumer participation) and challenges (e.g., electricity demand growth, autonomy loss, increasing cyber risks) currently reported in the literature. Eventually, building on the thorough analysis, we present a menu of policy options to exploit its full potential of digitalized electricity systems while mitigating adverse effects on decarbonization goals and consumers.
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At the Shop Floor Level, Digital Twins are used for analysis and prediction, including machining process condition assessments and preventive maintenance planning for equipment.
“At this level, Digital Twins are used for analysis and prediction, including machining process condition assessments [21] and preventive maintenance planning for equipment [22]”
From Analysis of Digital Twin Applications in Energy Efficiency: A Systematic Review (2025) · cites this paper as [22]
Investing in training programs is essential to ensure that staff can fully leverage the capabilities of Digital Twins.
“As Heymann et al. [22] noted, investing in training programs is essential to ensure that staff can fully leverage the capabilities of Digital Twins.”
From Analysis of Digital Twin Applications in Energy Efficiency: A Systematic Review (2025) · cites this paper as [22]
Heymann et al. pointed out that the effectiveness of Digital Twins can vary significantly depending on local policies and infrastructure.
“However, Heymann et al. [22] pointed out that the effectiveness of Digital Twins can vary significantly depending on local policies and infrastructure.”
From Analysis of Digital Twin Applications in Energy Efficiency: A Systematic Review (2025) · cites this paper as [22]
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Analysis of Digital Twin Applications in Energy Efficiency: A Systematic Review
Ba, L., Tangour, F., El Abbassi, I., & Absi, R. (2025) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su17083560 · Cited by 96 · see citing works
- Authors
- Heymann, F., Milojevic, T., Covatariu, A., & Verma, P.
- Affiliations
- INESC TEC (PT)
- École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (CH)
- Harvard University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Milojevic, Tatjana
- Venue
- Energy
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2023-01
- Volume
- 262
- Pages
- 125521
- ISSN
- 0360-5442 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W4296889886
- Cited by
- 60
- References
- 3
- Citations by year
- 2026: 9 · 2025: 17 · 2024: 14 · 2023: 20
- FWCI
- 2.30
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Energy (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Infoscience (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Funders
- European Commission (HORIZON2020, 754354)
- École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
- Bundesamt für Energie
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Energy › Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment › Energy, Economy, and Technology Trends
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Electrical and Electronic Engineering › Integrated Energy Systems Optimization
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Electrical and Electronic Engineering › Smart Grid and Power Systems
- Keywords
- digitalization, decarbonization, power systems, regional variation, digital technologies, stakeholder perspectives, cybersecurity risks, consumer participation, electricity demand growth, loss of autonomy, energy policy options
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