Governance of interactions between infrastructure sectors: the making of smart grids in the UK

This paper uses historical analysis to explore the evolution of interdependencies between the electricity and information and communication technology (ICT) sectors in the UK. It explores the role of governance in shaping the interface between these two sectors, and subsequent implications for smart grid innovation. The analysis focuses on three periods between 1940 and 2016, with distinct institutional logics: state ownership, privatisation, and transitions to sustainability. The interactions between the electricity and ICT sectors are analysed through Raven and Verbong’ (2007) typology: competition, symbiosis, integration and spill-over, drawing on social-technical transitions theories and discussed in terms of rules and institutions; actors and networks; and technology, artefacts and infrastructures of socio-technical regimes. The paper finds that a way to encourage more spill-overs and integration between the electricity and the ICT sector is through a more symmetrical and integrated governance approach that takes into account the needs and characteristics of both sectors.