The electricity system is made up of several segments: production, transmission, distribution and the sale of electricity. Tasked with transmission and dispatching, Terna is responsible for the key transmission segment. This is a complex task, requiring an independent central coordinator capable of having an overall view of a high number of actors involved in both production and consumption.

In this scenario, Terna is driving the complex transition towards a new carbon-free model, aware of the fact that the task of meeting ambitious national and international targets over the coming years must be addressed by taking into account not only the environmental aspects, but also the social dimension, in order to deliver a just transition that is as fair and inclusive as possible. In this sense, it is of fundamental importance to involve all the players affected by the transition (including, for example, trade bodies, civil society and the authorities), through partnerships, public debate and engagement initiatives.

To be truly just, this transformation process must embrace not only energy-related and digital aspects, but also social considerations. This means achieving energy equality, under an approach that has the human dimension at its heart with a view to reducing inequalities and avoiding new forms of energy poverty. In managing the transmission grid and the system, new technologies and digitalisation thus play, and will continue to play, an ever more important role in enabling the energy transition. This will benefit the electricity system as a whole and further boost the security, resilience and flexibility of Italy’s transmission infrastructure, supporting progressive decarbonisation and the growing integration of renewables.

The transition to a distributed production system based on green sources is, therefore, rapidly altering the electricity system, resulting in exponential growth in active resources connected to the grid. Managing requests for connection to the HV grid, coming from entities proposing renewable initiatives, enables Terna to have a systematic view of the current situation and future scenarios. As Transmission System Operator (TSO), Terna can monitor the system’s ability to meet demand for electricity whilst satisfying security and quality of service requirements: in a word, ensuring the system’s adequacy.

Terna has, and will increasingly have, a key role to play in enabling the electricity system’s transition towards renewable sources and in centrally coordinating this major energy and digital transformation. The electricity grid is in fact the main enabling factor in achieving the global goal of decarbonisation.