💥Workshop: Smart Electricity Grids for Smart People - Research and Practice Meet
- Admin
- Oct 21
- 3 min read
An interesting conference organized in collaboration between Linköping University, Lund University, Chalmers, KTH and Uppsala University.
Read about the research program
💥 Smart Electricity Grids for Smart People - Research and Practice Meet 💥
Location: Klara Conference, Klarabergsviadukten 90, Stockholm
Date: October 21, 2025
Time: 10:00 – 16:00, coffee and mingling 09:30
Moderator: Björn Sandén, professor of innovation and sustainability, Chalmers
10.00-10.10 Introduction
10.10-11.10 Panel 1: Citizen engagement in the energy system
• Raymond Wigg, Lagnö Energy Community
• Rickard Nordin, Member of Parliament (C)
• Jennie Sjöstedt, Head of Department Customer and Business Electricity Network, Göteborg Energi
The new, partially decentralized energy system opens up new forms of citizen engagement. Energy communities have been highlighted in the EU, but the active participation of individual households is also often seen as a prerequisite for transition. Is citizen engagement a necessity for transition, can it give the energy system a new social dimension, or does it mostly create problems for professional actors?
11.10-11.30 Break
11.30-12.30 Panel 2: Household energy transition: between social practices and digital platforms
• Marie-Louise Persson, National Construction Agency
• Karin Ehrnberger, design researcher, KTH
• Hilda Wenander, postdoctoral fellow, Linköping University
What role do homes and households play in the energy transition? Homes are an arena for people's everyday lives and social relationships. Homes also play an increasingly important role in creating flexibility in the electricity system and linking their own electricity production using digital platforms and automation. In the panel, we discuss potential for the role of homes in a future electricity system, how digital technology can reinforce norms and frictions that arise in the change process.
12:30-13:30 Lunch
13.30-14.30 Panel 3: Energy preparedness in households – the role of everyday life in an uncertain world
• Hanna Hasselquist, RISE
• Hans Liwång, Professor of Defense Systems, Swedish National Defense University
• Shashini Rajaguru/Theodore Kindong, Linköping University/INDIG
What happens when energy is no longer a given? The issue of energy security is not only something for politicians, authorities, energy companies, but also for households. This session addresses how we can understand and strengthen energy preparedness in everyday life. We gain perspectives on risks and vulnerabilities in the electricity system, the possibilities for households to prepare, and the political and technical strategies that can increase the robustness of society.
14:30-14:50 Break
14:50-15:50 Panel 4: Policy instruments – effect and acceptance
• Jens Ewald, Chalmers
• Linus Lakso, Member of Parliament (MP)
• Peter Juslin, professor of cognitive psychology, Uppsala University
Climate goals require significant emission reductions in a range of everyday phenomena - travel, heating, etc. In light of the rapid technological development in these areas, policy instruments for the purpose and their acceptance appear to be a greater challenge. A central question in this context is whether policy instruments that target individual behavior (e.g. using electricity flexibly and eating vegetarian), or aim to change the conditions in the system (e.g. through carbon dioxide taxes, bans on combustion engines, etc.) are most effective. Individual-oriented measures preserve freedom of choice, but risk being ineffective, while system-oriented measures are often more powerful, but risk arousing resistance among the public.
15:50-16:00 Summary and conclusion
"Smart Electricity Networks for Smart People - Research and Practice Meet" is an annual conference, which aims to create an arena for discussions between researchers and various private and public societal actors in the energy field. The conference is organized by the research program
" Resistance and effect - about smart electricity grids for the many people ", which is funded by the Kamprad Family Foundation and is a collaboration between Linköping University, Lund University, Chalmers, KTH and Uppsala University.
