The Instrument of 'Schéma Directeurs Des Énergies' of Lyon Metropolis: Drawing the City’s Smart Grid Tools Amidst the Energy Data-Digitalization Process. The Case of Lyon Living Lab Smart Grid Strategy

Since 2009, the European Commission through “ the Task Force for Smart Grid” deliberated the agenda of Smart Grid, promoting digital technologies solution to make energy systems across European countries more connected, intelligent, and sustainable, capable of tying the renewable energy within the existing network. The improvements in data analytics, connectivity and interoperability are enabling a range of new digital applications such as smart appliances. In 2012, Electricté de France (EDF) launched the smart meter experimentation project in the metropolis area of Lyon. The project established a consortium named Smart Electric Lyon (SEL). The main purpose of SEL is to analyze the rapid stream of data that is being generated from smart meter equipment sensor installed in 25,000 homes in Lyon. These devices could produce fine-grained data household electricity consumptions in a real-time basis. It reveals the new “data revolution” [Kitchin 2014] shifted beyond traditional quantifying methods [Desroisiers, 1993] and englobe both the traceability and the interoperability of every bit of consuming behaviours [Boullier 2015, Lupton 2016]. Entitled as the biggest project in terms of investment, it hybrids the funding from EDF and national government via the Environment and Energy Management Agency [ADEME]. It aims to stimulate the integration of private instrument to the public government through data exchange [Ademe Smart Grid Report, 2011]. In the meantime, Greater Lyon is pushing the bar high to institutionalize digital intelligent governance. Smart City and Big Data Project were established along with the appointment of legislative members in charge of political pursuit. In the energy sector, the “Energy Mission” and its instrument “Schema Directeurs des Energies (SDE)” were also launched. Lyon is reshaping their internal institutional governance structure by hiring the professionals having had experiences in digital market strategy to keep up with the rapid “unavoidable” digital ecosystems transformation that comes across penetrating every aspect of city activities. Profound and intense empirical observations were conducted within Greater Lyon authority related to the subject, combined with an in-depth interview with other stakeholders, such as the Task Force for Smart Grid-DG Energy-EU, the SEL consortium and also ADEME as an infra-governmental agency in favour of Smart Grid development. This work is also drawn mainly by the support of theories: the Tools of government in the “new governance” approach [Salomon, 2002], Governing by the instrument [Lascoumes & Le Gales, 2004] and furthermore the concept of Smart City [Batty, 2013, Bolívar, 2015] and contemporary big data context through perspective of the sociology of quantification [Boullier, 2005]. The result illustrates, instead of harnessing the feedback and data deluge from SEL experiment to be integrated to SDE, the Project Director of Mission Energy rather launched “Lyon Living Lab Smart Grid” strategy. Greater Lyon attempts to be “organizing authority” in its own territory in order to optimize digital economy opportunity. From this point of view, we confess the sovereignty public has taken an active role in the subject of big data, not merely as public affairs but mingling the entrepreneurial spirit.