The role of DISCOMs will change significantly in the future. They are not anymore supply companies but they will become the major coordinating institutions of the future distributed power generation and energy storage pool. PV and Wind power plants as well as electrical vehicles and stationary storage systems will serve customer energy demand in a decentralized, customer-cantered, near zero-marginal cost structure. The general trend of digitalization and modernization will facilitate additional technical design opportunities.

This half-day workshop will provide best-practise experiences from German grid integration of PV and Wind power plants towards high penetration rates and highlight emerging business models for discoms/municipal utilities. The organizers interactively intend to gather a structured overview about present administrative, financial, regulatory and technical challenges and concerns of Indian DISCOMs in order to create a first guidance about next actions supported by GIZ/KfW.

Time	Topic
09:30 – 10:00	Registration
10:00 – 10:10	Introduction, Motivation and Objectives
Session 1: Transformation and disruption of the traditional discom business model in Germany
10:10 – 10:25	Variable Renewable Energy Sources in Distribution Networks – German experiences
10:25 – 10:40	How did the German Energiewende transform the business? – Perspective from a German utility
10:40 – 10:55	Changing business models for municipal utilities: Opportunities and challenges for market incumbents as well as for new market entrants
10:55 – 11:15	Panel discussion / Q&A
11:15 – 11:30	Tea/Coffee break
Session 2: Transformation and disruption of the traditional discom business model in India
11:30 – 11:45	Indian utility/discom Transformation Journey 2002‐2017
11:45 – 12:00	Indian utility/discom Transformation Journey 2002-2017
12:00 – 12:15	Analysis of Indian Electricity Distribution Systems for the Integration of High Shares of Rooftop PV
12:15 – 12:30	Achieving More: Aligning strategic Intent with technology choices and operational processes
12:30 – 12:50	Panel discussion / Q&A
12:50 – 13:00	Wrap up, closure, next steps
13:00 – 14:00	Lunch

• Sharing of best-practise examples from German and Indian distribution system operators
• Overview on technical challenges for Indian DISCOMs in the context of vRE integration and system modernization
• Issues to be addressed to strengthen and prepare Indian discoms for the future challenges through higher shares of variable renewable energy in the electricity system

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Martin Braun studied Electrical Engineering and Economics at the University of Stuttgart and received a European Ph.D. at the University of Kassel on “Provision of Ancillary Services by Distributed Generators”. He was researcher in the group “Electricity Grids” at the research institute ISET in Kassel in 2005-2008. In 2009 Martin Braun established and coordinated a new research group on “Decentralized Ancillary Services” at the Fraunhofer-Institute for Wind Energy and Energy System Technology (IWES) in Kassel, Germany. In the years 2010-2012 Martin Braun was Junior professor for „Smart Power Grids“ at the University of Stuttgart. Since September 2012 he is full professor at the University of Kassel for Energy Management and Power Systems Operation. In parallel he established and heads a new department on “Distribution System Operation” at the Fraunhofer IWES since 2012 and coordinates the business field “Grid Planning and Operation” that builds on the core competence “Electricity Grids“ with about 50 power system experts. He initiated and coordinated more than 20 industry-oriented projects with more than 30 Germany distribution system operators and further industrial partners. In addition, his consulting activities not only addressed industry but also politics in the area of grid integration of renewable energies. Internationally, he is active in various positions in IEEE, CIGRÉ and IEA.

Dr. Dörte Fouquet is a partner in Becker Büttner Held, law firm (BBH) and specialized in EU law and international legal relations, with focus on competition, infrastructure, energy and environment. She is legal advisor to companies, finance institutions, associations, governmental agencies in Germany and other EU Member States, EU institutions and on international level. Legal advice in the areas of energy, environmental and competition law, with a particular focus on life cycle, on the (decentralized) energy system transformation and the promotion of renewable energy and energy efficiency and strong PPP and procurement law advice, e.g. to German municipalities and municipal public companies, French “Syndicat intercommunal pour le service public de la distribution” and private industry, e.g. in the field of recycling.

Dr. Thomas Ackermann is owner and CEO of energynautics. With over 16 years of world-wide experience, he is often asked to provide advice to government departments and electricity service providers on the matter of power system design and operation, as well as regulatory matters and grid code issues. He is active in the area of investigation and research into innovative energy solutions and dissemination of knowledge about the integration of renewable energies into existing systems around the world.

Mr. Keith Nicolas Galatis has travelled widely and implemented revenue management initiatives in over 20 countries. He is considered an expert in the fields of prepayment, smart metering and revenue management. He is passionate about integrating complimentary technologies and matching the efforts in introducing new technologies with appropriate processes and procedures to support operational staff in the field. He believes customer acceptance of technology is critical and surveys, focus groups and one-on-one interviews are as important as the complex technology scans that precede such projects.