ELECTRODISTRIBUTION GRID WEST AD

Their core work

EDG West is a Bulgarian electricity distribution company that operates power grid infrastructure in western Bulgaria. In H2020 projects, they contribute real-world grid operator expertise — serving as a testbed and validation partner for smart grid technologies, energy market platforms, and cybersecurity solutions designed to protect critical energy infrastructure. Their role is that of an end-user and infrastructure provider, bringing operational reality to research consortia working on grid flexibility, TSO-DSO coordination, and energy system cyber-resilience.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

EDG West's H2020 journey shows a clear pivot. Their early projects (2017-2019) focused squarely on energy market operations — grid flexibility, market coupling, congestion management, and TSO-DSO coordination. From 2019 onward, their participation shifted heavily toward cybersecurity for energy systems, with three of five projects addressing vulnerability assessment, cyber-ranges, anomaly detection, and threat forecasting. This reflects the broader European recognition that grid digitalization creates new attack surfaces that distribution operators must actively defend against.

EDG West is moving from pure grid operations toward cyber-resilience of energy systems — a growing priority as European grids become more digitalized and interconnected.

How they like to work

EDG West operates exclusively as a participant, never as a coordinator — consistent with their role as an infrastructure end-user that validates solutions in real operational environments rather than driving research agendas. With 130 unique partners across 25 countries in just 5 projects, they work in large Innovation Action consortia (all 5 projects are IAs), meaning they join big, applied, demonstration-oriented teams. This makes them a reliable validation partner rather than a research leader.

Despite only 5 projects, EDG West has built a remarkably broad network of 130 partners across 25 European countries, reflecting the large-scale Innovation Action consortia they join. Their connections span energy utilities, cybersecurity firms, and research institutions across most of the EU.

What sets them apart

EDG West brings something most cybersecurity researchers lack: a real, operational electricity distribution grid to test against. As a Bulgarian DSO participating in both energy market and cybersecurity projects, they offer a Southeast European grid environment that is underrepresented in most consortia. For any project needing to validate smart grid or cyber-resilience tools in live distribution infrastructure, they are a practical and experienced partner.

Highlights from their portfolio

• INTERRFACE
  Largest funding (EUR 160,125) — a flagship TSO-DSO interface project tackling pan-European market design and grid services coordination.
• FORESIGHT
  Advanced cyber-range simulation platform spanning aviation, naval, and power-grid sectors — demonstrates EDG West's cross-sector cybersecurity relevance.
• EnergyShield
  Integrated cybersecurity solution combining vulnerability assessment, SIEM, DDoS mitigation, and anomaly detection specifically for energy infrastructure.