# Towards Flexible Distribution Systems: Future Adaptive Management Schemes
###### Abstract  
During the ongoing evolution of energy systems toward increasingly flexible, resilient, and digitalized distribution systems, many issues need to be developed. In general, a holistic multi-level systemic view is required on the future enabling technologies, control and management methods, operation and planning principles, regulation as well as market and business models. Increasing integration of intermittent renewable generation and electric vehicles, as well as industry electrification during the evolution, requires a huge amount of flexibility services at multiple time scales and from different voltage levels, resources, and sectors. Active use of distribution network-connected flexible energy resources for flexibility services provision through new marketplaces will also be needed. Therefore, increased collaboration between system operators in operation and planning of the future power system will also become essential during the evolution. In addition, use of integrated cyber-secure, resilient, cost-efficient, and advanced communication technologies and solutions will be of key importance. This paper describes a potential three-stage evolution path toward fully flexible, resilient, and digitalized electricity distribution networks. A special focus of this paper is the evolution and development of adaptive control and management methods as well as compatible collaborative market schemes that can enable the improved provision of flexibility services by distribution network-connected flexible energy resources for local (distribution system operator) and system-wide (transmission system operator) needs. distributed energy resources; flexibility services; active network management; distribution networks; frequency control; voltage control; flexibility markets Article  
Towards Flexible Distribution Systems: Future Adaptive Management Schemes  
[PERSON], [PERSON], H.  
large-scale electrification in future energy systems will also increase the need for flexibility and different kinds of energy storage and conversion solutions (electricity, heat, gas/fuel) with different time scales (from milliseconds to months) as well as a new type of solutions to generate electricity again from the stored or converted renewable energy [1,2]. On the other hand, the development and evolution of smart energy systems will enable the energy transition and large-scale integration of renewable energy sources. It also enables improved flexibility, energy, and cost-efficiency as well as sustainability and resiliency of the whole energy system. This can be achieved by use of:  
* Advanced cyber-secure information and communications technology (ICT) architectures [3] and interoperable platforms [4] (based on technologies such as 5G/6G, cloud/edge [5] -solutions, new data sources, and data lakes, big data analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML)) enabling
* Increased sector coupling (electricity, heat, gas, hydrogen, and transportation networks) and
* Integration of different energy storage technologies (battery storages, heat storages, power-to-X-to-power (P2X2P))
* New flexibilities use and sector coupling enabling regulation (legislation, taxation, etc.) and market structures and business models [1, 2, 3, 6]. Prosumers/households, microgrids, local energy communities, aggregators/flexibility operators, and transmission and distribution system operators (TSOs and DSOs) are some of the key stakeholders in future energy systems. Their simultaneous and sometimes contradicting needs may also increase the system operation and management complexity during the evolution. Therefore, future digitalized protection, control, and management devices and their software must also be flexible, interoperable, cyber-secure, and be easily updated. For these reasons, new types of co-simulation platforms for research and testing [7] will be increasingly needed during the evolution.