The large-scale deployment of the smart grid (SG) paradigm could play a strategic role in
supporting the evolution of conventional electrical grids toward active, flexible and self-
healing web energy networks composed of distributed and cooperative energy resources.
From a conceptual point of view, the SG is the convergence of information and
operational technologies applied to the electric grid, providing sustainable options to
customers and improved security. Advances in research on SGs could increase the
efficiency of modern electrical power systems by: (i) supporting the massive penetration
of small-scale distributed and dispersed generators; (ii) facilitating the integration of
pervasive synchronized metering systems; (iii) improving the interaction and cooperation
between the network components; and (iv) allowing the wider deployment of self-healing
and proactive control/protection paradigms.
