## 3 A New Energy Market  
The smart grid technology radically changes the energy market scenario: new actors may arise, such as energy traders, distributed generation operators, _etc._[6] (see Figure 2).  
Figure 1: The smart grid pyramid (as described by [PERSON] [5]).  
[PERSON] _et al._[7] define three elements as the \"pillars\" of the smart grid. Those elements are:  
* _Smart Customer_: the set of technologies that enable consumers to observe and control their consumption;
* _Smart Utility_: the utility that implements monitoring, control and pricing, and demand response;
* _Smart Market_: an economically efficient market structure to integrate technology, decision making and information.  
Authors also identify Real-Time Pricing (RTP) as a fundamental tool to realize the Smart Market, because it provides consumers with a transparent way to control their energy bill, and utilities with a rate flexibility that allows them to increase their competitiveness and implement demand-side management. In Figure 3 these three figures are represented.  
Figure 3: The three pillars of the smart grid [7].  
Figure 2: Overview of transactions within the electricity market [6].  
In this new scenario, the roles of producer and consumer get closer. The consumer is now able to produce energy, through distributed renewable energy sources. This new emerging entity is called the _prosumer_, which is discussed by [PERSON] _et al._[8]. Authors define it as an economically motivated entity that:  
1. Consumes and produces power;
2. Operates a small or large power grid, thus transports electricity;
3. Optimizes the economic decisions regarding its energy utilization.  
The prosumer may not be strictly a physical entity, but rather a combination of components: energy sources, loads, an electric grid, controls to operate his system, and a market, or other economic decision making system.  
This new market must be supported through a management system that takes into account these new figures. An example of a strategic approach for a complete energy management system is BEMI (Bidirectional Energy Management System) [9]. BEMI is an energy management system designed for installation at Low Voltage grid connection points. Its main task is to optimize the so-called Controllable Distributed Electrical (CDE) units, which means locally connected loads or generators. This optimization is done accordingly to consumption and generation tariffs, set by an energy service provider through a Pool-BEMI system. BEMI supervises the CDE unit switching and operation, and also provides grid costumers complete information about the variable tariffs, energy cost and device schedules. The BEMI system is shown in Figure 4. As emerges from the picture, the BEMI system supports the new prosumer entity, modeling distributed generation with CDE units. Moreover, it also enables dynamic pricing, which we cited before as a key element of the new market. Thus, BEMI represents a useful example of an ICT system designed for a liberalized energy market.  
When speaking about energy network management, the biggest problem is energy dispatch. A utility provider must be able to deliver a service in the smallest time possible, at the minimum cost and simultaneously keep alive the other critical services they are providing. This implies a careful planning of strategies and road maps considering also the return on the required investments for such  
Figure 4: BEMI System in the liberalized energy market [9].  
major undertakings. As an example, [PERSON] _et al_. [PERSON] et al. (2010) provide an analysis of the Brazilian smart grid development. In Latin America, many investors decided to undertake smart grid projects. The area is known to be a challenging but returning market for these kinds of investments. Moreover, the barriers for the smart grid development in Brazil are basically the same as every other country: market uncertainty, low public knowledge and awareness, lack of interoperability between energy providers, lack of regulatory definitions.