Industrializing electricity grid expansion through asset standardization
An empirical study of governance and organizational conditions for implementing internal asset standards in Dutch LV-MV distribution networks
G.W. Blijleven (TU Delft - Technology, Policy and Management)
G. van de Kaa – Graduation committee member (TU Delft - Technology, Policy and Management)
T.S.G.H. Rodhouse – Graduation committee member (TU Delft - Technology, Policy and Management)
M. Leijten – Graduation committee member (TU Delft - Technology, Policy and Management)
J. Vermaas – Mentor (Accenture - Amsterdam)
Y. Baudet – Mentor (Accenture - Amsterdam)
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Abstract
The Dutch electricity distribution grid faces accelerating expansion pressure due to electrification, grid congestion, and workforce scarcity. Distribution system operators (DSOs) increasingly promote internal asset standardization as a way to industrialize low- and medium-voltage (LV/MV) grid construction, yet implementation success varies substantially across organizations and asset classes. This thesis investigates how organizational structure and governance design shape the implementation of internal asset standards in Dutch DSO LV/MV grid construction projects.
The study applies a four-phase qualitative design. A systematic literature review and expert interviews establish sensitizing concepts, followed by a comparative case study of three Dutch DSOs and six embedded standardization programs. Cross-case synthesis is subsequently validated in a structured session with senior DSO practitioners. The cases span low, semi-complex, and very-high-complexity assets, enabling comparison across both asset type and organizational context.
The findings show that implementation depth is shaped less by the technical standard itself than by the completeness of the surrounding governance architecture. Sustained implementation requires a three-tier architecture: a normative tier that establishes the standard as authoritative, a procedural tier that governs change and deviations, and a structural tier that makes standard use the path of least operational resistance. The thesis labels this logic governance-as-fit: governance capacity must match the demand created by asset complexity, organizational fragmentation, and inherent deployment variability. Foreseeable variation should be internalized as bounded variants, while residual variation requires governed deviation pathways. The study contributes to construction industrialization, innovation implementation, and contingency theory by specifying the governance conditions under which internal asset standardization can support scalable grid expansion.