How European Utilities Can Modernize Grid Operations, Accelerate Renewable Connections and Build the Capabilities for Success
Europe’s distribution networks were designed for one-way power flows, centralized generators and predictable demand. That world has passed. Today, rooftop solar, wind, EVs, heat pumps and battery storage connect at every voltage level, creating bidirectional flows, voltage instability and connection backlogs that passive management cannot resolve. Meanwhile, the EU Clean Energy Package and national regulators require distribution system operators (DSOs) to actively procure flexibility, publish forward-looking network development plans and demonstrate efficient grid utilization.
Active Network Management (ANM) is the answer: a technology-enabled approach to operating the grid in real time, anticipating constraints before they become crises, and orchestrating a growing mix of generators, consumers and flexible assets. ANM is a capability built at the intersection of integrated systems, high-quality data, advanced analytics and skilled operators. By following the right best practices for ANM deployment, operational leaders at European utilities can modernize grid operations and transition for renewables and future growth.
The Challenges European Utilities Face with Active Network Management
The most visible pressure on European grid operators is congestion in connection queues. Distribution and transmission networks were engineered for one-directional power flow from large, dispatchable generators to passive consumers. That assumption no longer holds. Distributed energy resource (DER) assets are connecting at every voltage level and the backlog is severe: Approximately 1,700 GW of renewable and hybrid projects across 16 European countries are awaiting grid connections, more than three times the capacity needed to meet EU 2030 climate targets, with some developers facing waits of four to seven years or longer.
The financial cost of inaction is equally stark. Grid constraints force operators to curtail generation that is already commissioned and ready to deliver. In 2024, the cost of curtailing renewable output across Europe reached €8.9 billion, with 72 terawatt-hours of clean electricity wasted due to grid bottlenecks. This imposes direct costs on generators, operators and ratepayers.
Legacy SCADA systems and older ADMS platforms provide reasonable visibility at the transmission and high-voltage distribution levels but offer little real-time insight into the low-voltage network, where most DER integration is occurring. Without that visibility, operators cannot make confident decisions about available headroom and instead default to the safest and most costly response: waiting years for physical reinforcement.
ANM also requires constant communication among traditionally isolated systems such as ADMS, outage management, meter data management, GIS and external flexibility platforms. Getting these systems to share a common language through standardized ontologies is a prerequisite for coordinated real-time management. Without it, decisions are based on incomplete or conflicting data.
Compounding this is a workforce capability gap. Managing thousands of distributed, controllable assets requires analytical skills that most European DSOs have not yet developed, and experienced operators are retiring faster than they can be replaced.
Finally, ANM systems are only as reliable as the network models underpinning them. Deploying new technology alone won’t solve the existing problems of poor data quality, inconsistent asset records or the lack of a single system of record.
Key challenges at a glance:
- Connection backlogs caused by bidirectional DER flows.
- Billions in curtailed renewable generation lost annually to grid constraints.
- Limited visibility into the low-voltage network.
- System interoperability gaps that prevent coordinated use of data.
- Workforce capability shortfalls and poor data governance.
Best Practices for Optimizing Active Network Management and Operating Systems
Effective ANM is built across interconnected layers: integrated systems, quality network data, real-time visibility and advanced analytics within clear governance structures. The following best practices provide a practical framework for DSOs and TSOs ready to move from passive to active grid management.
1. Tightly Integrated Grid Solutions (IT/OT)
The foundation of ANM is deep convergence between IT and OT systems. The ADMS or EMS must communicate seamlessly with outage management, meter data management, flexibility market interfaces and geospatial tools. Achieving meaningful IT/OT convergence requires a deliberate systems architecture and a clear plan for how data flows across the enterprise and to external market participants in real time.
2. Modern AMI Solutions
Deploying modern advanced metering infrastructure solutions is central to achieving the low-voltage visibility ANM requires. Smart meters, network sensors and state estimation tools extended to the network edge provide operators with real-time insight into consumers, prosumers and small-scale DER assets. Integrating AMI data into the control environment, rather than treating it as a separate billing system, transforms the meter estate into an operational sensor network. This enables confident connection decisions and accurate constraint forecasting.
3. Effective DER Management Systems
As DER assets become the primary sources of flexibility on distribution networks, purpose-built distributed energy resource management systems (DERMS) become essential operational infrastructure. A DERMS enables operators to onboard, monitor and dispatch DER assets in real time. It helps manage output, respond to constraint signals and coordinate among multiple flexibility providers. A mature DERMS also supports the commercial structures underpinning flexibility markets, helping DSOs fulfil their regulatory obligation to procure flexibility as an alternative to reinforcement.
4. Advanced Capabilities
ANM requires analytical capabilities well beyond traditional network operations. What’s needed includes constraint forecasting that looks hours and days ahead, real-time power flow analysis that recalculates the network state after a fault within seconds and flexibility optimization that matches DER response to grid needs at market speed. Moreover, these capabilities demand new skills, including roles such as data scientists and system operators who can interpret model outputs and make high-stakes decisions under time pressure. Building this analytical layer is the differentiator between reactive and genuinely active network management.
5. Integrate GIS and Network Model Data into the Control Environment
Integrating GIS and accurate network model data directly into the ADMS or EMS allows operators to see a single, consistent picture of the network’s physical and electrical state. This reduces errors in fault response, connection decisions and constraint management. When the control system’s network topology matches the real-world asset configuration in the GIS, operators can trust the models they use. The integration also enables automatic model updates when field changes occur, eliminating the lag that builds up when GIS and control systems are maintained independently.
6. Establish Data Governance as a Precondition
No ANM system can be trusted if the underlying network model is inaccurate or disputed. Before deploying ANM platforms, DSOs must resolve several fundamental governance questions, including which system serves as the authoritative record for each asset type, who is responsible for maintaining model quality and what processes ensure that field changes are captured across all dependent systems. Data governance is a leadership decision that must precede technology investment.
7. Build and Sustain Organizational ANM Capability
Technology without trained people is infrastructure without operators. DSOs must invest in a structured ANM capability that empowers its staff with the right skills. Training should include standard operating procedures for constraint management and flexibility dispatch; dedicated system operations functions that manage both physical network operations and commercial market participation; and cross-functional governance among network planning, control room operations and commercial teams. As the grid grows more complex, the people operating it must continuously develop their skills and the structures around them must support faster, data-driven decision-making.
Benefits Achieved
DSOs that implement these best practices realize improvements across four dimensions of performance. First, they achieve faster, cheaper renewable connections. By proactively managing headroom rather than waiting for reinforcement, operators can offer connection agreements months or years sooner and at lower cost. This reduces backlogs, supports regulatory compliance and enables more renewable capacity to reach the market.
Second, it curtails rates as real-time constraint visibility and flexible dispatch replace conservative output limits. Assets previously held contracted capacity due to grid uncertainty can more often generate at their full potential.
Third, capital deferral becomes a systematic outcome. Dynamic line rating and flexibility-first constraint management can defer or eliminate reinforcement investment, with payback periods typically ranging from three to five years. Finally, operational resilience also improves. Real-time constraint monitoring reduces outage frequency and duration, and better data supports proactive asset maintenance.
Use Cases Improved by Following These Recommendations
Implementing ANM best practices unlocks tangible improvements across five critical operational scenarios.
- Demand response and peak management: Automatically adjusting consumer loads during peak grid stress flattens the demand curve, reduces reliance on expensive peaker generation and maintains frequency stability without costly physical intervention.
- Post-fault restoration: Real-time control over demand and generation enables operators to orchestrate a safe, controlled restoration sequence, which reduces restoration time and the risk of secondary faults.
- Grid balancing and voltage management: Automated control over DER output, reactive power and storage dispatch maintains voltage within acceptable limits without manual switching or equipment that degrades asset lifespan.
- Asset optimization and maintenance: Predictive analytics enable maintenance scheduling during low-demand windows, extending plant lifespan and reducing capital replacement costs.
- DER interconnection and market access: Conditional, flexible connections enable developers to begin generating and participating in energy markets while permanent reinforcement is completed, thereby bringing more renewable capacity onto constrained networks sooner.
Recommended First Steps
The path to mature ANM capability begins with a data and network model audit to determine what data exists, where it resides, how accurate it is and whether different systems agree. From that foundation, establish standardized data ontologies, such as the IEC common information model, to enable consistent information exchange both internally and with external market participants.
Define the integration architecture and how data will flow among ADMS, GIS, AMI, DERMS and flexibility platforms, and at what frequency. Then build and connect systems in a deliberate sequence, starting with the integrations that deliver the greatest operational value.
Security architecture, including NIS2 compliance and IEC 62351 standards, must be embedded from the outset. Workforce training and operating model design should begin in parallel, not as an afterthought.
Why Select TRC
TRC’s team delivers end-to-end ANM capability, from readiness assessment through full deployment and managed operations, under a single accountable partner. With experienced engineers and consultants, TRC brings operational credibility from day one, with an understanding not only of the technology but also of how DSOs and TSOs operate.
TRC covers the full ANM stack:
- ADMS and EMS delivery across platforms
- Enterprise GIS and ArcGIS Utility Network
- AMI integration
- DERMS and flexibility market connectivity
- IT/OT integration and cybersecurity requirements
- AI-powered constraint forecasting
- Operator training and organizational change management.
With dedicated European leadership ready to help, TRC understands the regional regulatory landscape and the operational challenges on the ground. From strategy to execution, we bridge the gap between where European utilities are today and where the energy transition demands they go.
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