Impact of Smart Grid Technologies on Peak Load to 2050

This working paper analyses the evolution of peak load demand to 2050 in four key regions: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Europe, OECD North America, OECD Pacific and China. Using a scenario‐planning approach, possible projections are made for the four cases based on two main uncertainties: technology and policy support. Technology is modelled using the Energy Technology Perspectives 2010 (ETP 2010) Baseline and BLUE Map Scenarios (IEA 2010). Smart Grid policy support is assumed to be either minimum (SGMIN) or maximum (SGMAX).