18 November 2025

From Gatekeepers to Enablers: Reimagining Distribution System Operators for a renewable future

Europe’s aging electricity distribution grid is in urgent need of modernisation. With 40% of the EU’s distribution network over 40 years old, just ten years off its typical lifespan, upgrades are inevitable– energy transition or not. This presents a pivotal opportunity to build a clean and efficient energy system that lowers costs for the people, families and businesses at the heart of our society.

Electricity distribution networks – operated by distribution system operators (DSOs) – are the golden thread connecting households and businesses to the benefits of renewables and clean flexibility solutions. More than 70% of all renewables will be connected to the distribution grid by 2030. They connect a wide range of projects: from heat pumps and EV charging stations to rooftop solar, industrial sites, utility-scale solar, and onshore wind. Thus, DSOs play a crucial technical role in optimising and stabilising the power system, as well as achieving decarbonisation objectives. Yet outdated rules, slow permitting processes, and governance gaps are slowing progress.

Distribution grids need to transition from a network where households and businesses passively consume electricity generated principally from centralised thermal power plants – to a system where electricity is generated and consumed in a much more decentralised, flexible manner. This transformation redefines the role of DSOs. Their new role as the key enablers, innovators and investors for the energy transition necessarily implies that current governance and operational structures need overhauling. Our new report sets out high-level changes needed to transform DSOs into the enablers of the clean energy transition.

From Gatekeepers to Enablers: Reimagining Distribution System Operators for a renewable future

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