Where is the entrepreneur in electricity transmission expansion?

Electricity transmission infrastructure has a fundamental role in the process of integrating national electricity markets in Europe to a single market. Transmission expansion takes place within institutional frameworks that sets the conditions for expansions. So far, most of the transmission business has been organised under the centralised and regulated transmission system operators (TSOs). This is motivated for reliability and grid access reasons. However, a strictly centralised approach to transmission expansion may not be capable of meeting the needs of the market. Central planners cannot incorporate all relevant information and knowledge about the market and its unexploited opportunities. Market participants have context specific knowledge that generates entrepreneurial actions and innovations. This is an essential driving force of markets and it needs to be included in transmission development. The strong interdependency aspect of grid expansions does require some form of common governance. However, for the electricity market to develop, it is also likely that it requires the decentralised actions of entrepreneurial market actors. Can both of these requirements be met? This paper elaborates on several key determinants for developing a market friendly infrastructure without losing control.