O futuro da Regulação do setor elétrico, tema central desta Tese, deve ser analisado no contexto da evolução tecnológica e do desenvolvimento sustentável, considerados seus três pilares fundamentais: a economia, o meio ambiente e a sociedade. No século XXI, um dos grandes desafios do setor elétrico mundial é a regulação de temas inseridos no amplo contexto da smart energy, com mais fontes renováveis na matriz, outras formas de atuação do consumidor e novos modelos de negócios. Análises, dados, fatos e evidências empíricas obtidas em pesquisas e apresentadas nesta Tese permitem afirmar que há razões suficientemente consistentes para que se busque uma nova abordagem da Regulação do setor elétrico brasileiro. Assim, é apresentado um novo caminho para a Regulação, consubstanciado numa Engenharia Regulatória, com maior visão sistêmica e prospectiva para tratar das questões da sustentabilidade, da economia verde e da sociedade mais digital e hiperconectada. Nesta Tese são apresentadas duas propostas: (1) premissas para a adoção de uma Regulação Evolutiva e (2) premissas para uma Plataforma Regulatória. Pela Regulação Evolutiva, há uma maneira diferenciada de regular o setor elétrico, caracterizada por tratar de forma mais convergente, dinâmica, equilibrada, interativa e qualificada as demandas da própria sociedade e do mercado, em que o consumidor assume papel mais decisivo como ator na transição para um setor diferenciado (geração distribuída, micro e minigeração, resposta da demanda, smart city, smart grid, smart metering, energy storage, entre outros). A Plataforma Regulatória deve ser uma ferramenta/sistema de suporte para estruturar a informação e auxiliar na adoção de soluções regulatórias, com maior participação, consistência e transparência. A Plataforma Regulatória busca agregar mais valor à inteligência regulatória, com a observação imediata de temas da agenda nacional e mundial, para verificar sua aderência aos temas a serem regulados. O trabalho visa contribuir de forma original para o debate e aprimoramento da Regulação, para atender a essa realidade de interrelação entre a evolução tecnológica e o desenvolvimento sustentável no setor que tende a ser cada vez mais 4D - digitalizado, descarbonizado, descentralizado e democrático. O futuro não deve ser mais o que foi projetado no passado, mas o que se estruturar a partir de uma consciência presente sobre os cenários, tendências e possíveis disrupturas, além da adoção de ações conjuntas na sociedade, entre as quais se inclui a Regulação do setor elétrico. / The future of the regulation of the electricity sector, the central theme of this Thesis, must be analyzed in the context of technological change and sustainable development, considered their three fundamental pillars: the economy, the environment and society. In the 21st Century, one of the great challenges of the world electricity sector is the regulation of themes included in the broad context of the smart energy, with more renewable sources in an array, other forms of consumer activity and new business models. Analysis, data, facts and empirical evidence obtained in research and presented in this Thesis allow to assert that there are consistent reasons to seek out a new approach to the Regulation of the Brazilian Electric Sector. Therefore, a new way to adjust is presented, organized in a Regulatory Engineering, with greater systemic vision and foresight to address the issues of sustainability, green economy and a more digital and hyperconnected society. In this Thesis, there are two proposals: (1) premises for the adoption of an Evolutionary Regulation and (2) premises for a Regulatory Platform. By Evolutionary Regulation, there is a different way to regulate the electricity sector, characterized by treating in a more convergent, dynamic, balanced, interactive and qualified way the demands of the society and the market, in which the consumer assumes a more decisive role as an actor in the transition to a distinguished sector (distributed generation, micro and minigeneration, demand response, smart city, smart grid, smart metering, energy storage, among others). The Regulatory Platform must be a tool/support system for structuring the information and assisting in the adoption of regulatory solutions, with greater participation, consistency and transparency. The Regulatory Platform seeks to add more value to regulatory intelligence, by immeditately observing national and global agenda issues to analyze its adherence to the themes to be regulated. The work aims to contribute to the debate and improvement of the Regulation in an original way, to meet this reality of interrelation between technological progress and sustainable development in the sector, which tends to be more and more 4 D - Digitalized, Decarbonized, Decentralized and Democratic. The future must no longer be what was designed in the past, but what is structured from a present conscience on the scenarios, trends and possible disruptions, in addition to the adoption of joint actions in society, including the Regulation of the electricity sector.

O futuro da Regulação do setor elétrico, tema central desta Tese, deve ser analisado no contexto da evolução tecnológica e do desenvolvimento sustentável, considerados seus três pilares fundamentais: a economia, o meio ambiente e a sociedade. No século XXI, um dos grandes desafios do setor elétrico mundial é a regulação de temas inseridos no amplo contexto da smart energy, com mais fontes renováveis na matriz, outras formas de atuação do consumidor e novos modelos de negócios. Análises, dados, fatos e evidências empíricas obtidas em pesquisas e apresentadas nesta Tese permitem afirmar que há razões suficientemente consistentes para que se busque uma nova abordagem da Regulação do setor elétrico brasileiro. Assim, é apresentado um novo caminho para a Regulação, consubstanciado numa Engenharia Regulatória, com maior visão sistêmica e prospectiva para tratar das questões da sustentabilidade, da economia verde e da sociedade mais digital e hiperconectada. Nesta Tese são apresentadas duas propostas: (1) premissas para a adoção de uma Regulação Evolutiva e (2) premissas para uma Plataforma Regulatória. Pela Regulação Evolutiva, há uma maneira diferenciada de regular o setor elétrico, caracterizada por tratar de forma mais convergente, dinâmica, equilibrada, interativa e qualificada as demandas da própria sociedade e do mercado, em que o consumidor assume papel mais decisivo como ator na transição para um setor diferenciado (geração distribuída, micro e minigeração, resposta da demanda, smart city, smart grid, smart metering, energy storage, entre outros). A Plataforma Regulatória deve ser uma ferramenta/sistema de suporte para estruturar a informação e auxiliar na adoção de soluções regulatórias, com maior participação, consistência e transparência. A Plataforma Regulatória busca agregar mais valor à inteligência regulatória, com a observação imediata de temas da agenda nacional e mundial, para verificar sua aderência aos temas a serem regulados. O trabalho visa contribuir de forma original para o debate e aprimoramento da Regulação, para atender a essa realidade de interrelação entre a evolução tecnológica e o desenvolvimento sustentável no setor que tende a ser cada vez mais 4D - digitalizado, descarbonizado, descentralizado e democrático. O futuro não deve ser mais o que foi projetado no passado, mas o que se estruturar a partir de uma consciência presente sobre os cenários, tendências e possíveis disrupturas, além da adoção de ações conjuntas na sociedade, entre as quais se inclui a Regulação do setor elétrico. / The future of the regulation of the electricity sector, the central theme of this Thesis, must be analyzed in the context of technological change and sustainable development, considered their three fundamental pillars: the economy, the environment and society. In the 21st Century, one of the great challenges of the world electricity sector is the regulation of themes included in the broad context of the smart energy, with more renewable sources in an array, other forms of consumer activity and new business models. Analysis, data, facts and empirical evidence obtained in research and presented in this Thesis allow to assert that there are consistent reasons to seek out a new approach to the Regulation of the Brazilian Electric Sector. Therefore, a new way to adjust is presented, organized in a Regulatory Engineering, with greater systemic vision and foresight to address the issues of sustainability, green economy and a more digital and hyperconnected society. In this Thesis, there are two proposals: (1) premises for the adoption of an Evolutionary Regulation and (2) premises for a Regulatory Platform. By Evolutionary Regulation, there is a different way to regulate the electricity sector, characterized by treating in a more convergent, dynamic, balanced, interactive and qualified way the demands of the society and the market, in which the consumer assumes a more decisive role as an actor in the transition to a distinguished sector (distributed generation, micro and minigeneration, demand response, smart city, smart grid, smart metering, energy storage, among others). The Regulatory Platform must be a tool/support system for structuring the information and assisting in the adoption of regulatory solutions, with greater participation, consistency and transparency. The Regulatory Platform seeks to add more value to regulatory intelligence, by immeditately observing national and global agenda issues to analyze its adherence to the themes to be regulated. The work aims to contribute to the debate and improvement of the Regulation in an original way, to meet this reality of interrelation between technological progress and sustainable development in the sector, which tends to be more and more 4 D - Digitalized, Decarbonized, Decentralized and Democratic. The future must no longer be what was designed in the past, but what is structured from a present conscience on the scenarios, trends and possible disruptions, in addition to the adoption of joint actions in society, including the Regulation of the electricity sector.

My dissertation addresses how engineers, scientists, and bureaucrats generated knowledge about pollution, crafted an institution for environmental protection, and constructed a collective identity for themselves. I show an important shift in regulators\' priorities, from stringent health-based standards to flexible technology-based ones through the development of end-of-pipeline pollution control devices, which contributed to the emergence of economic incentives and voluntary management programs. Drawing on findings from archival documents, published sources, and oral history interviews, I examine the first decade of the EPA amid constant organizational changes that shaped the technological and managerial character of environmental policy in the United States. Exploring the EPA\'s internal research and development processes and their relationship with scientific and engineering communities sheds light on how the new fields of environmental engineering and policy were co-produced in the 1970s. I argue that two competing approaches for environmental management, a community health approach and a control technology approach, developed from EPA\'s responses to bureaucratic, geographical, and epistemic challenges. I focus on researchers and managers from the Office of Research and Development at Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, as they were engaged in (1) controversy about integrated aerometry and epidemiology research intended to correlate air pollution and health, (2) intra-agency debate about the government\'s responsibility for introducing catalytic converters for tailpipe emissions reduction and responding to the potential environmental and social consequences, and (3) inter-agency activities for the demonstration of scrubbers for smokestack emissions and further application of the control technology approach in energy-related environmental problems. My principal conceptual contribution is "regulatory engineering." I define regulatory engineering as an approach to sociotechnical problems in which engineering practices are incorporated into regulatory and organizational changes, which in turn influences technical knowledge and identity formation. As EPA activities became closely associated with energy and economic issues toward the end of the 1970s, I argue that engineers took the initiative in demonstrating and evaluating control technologies for pollution abatement and energy development, scientists carefully studied environmental and health effects of these technologies, and regulators set up pollution standards and attainment deadlines accordingly. Studying the co-production of knowledge, institution, and identity through the lens of regulatory engineering helps us to understand technoscientific and managerial aspects of environmental governance beyond the 1970s EPA where technical feasibility considerations, economic incentives, and cooperative management expanded into legislation and regulation. / Ph. D.