Mr Jan Klusáček (MSc.) commenced his full-time doctoral studies in September 2020 with a nominal duration of four years. Although his studies were affected by the Covid period, over the course of five years he successfully developed and now submits a dissertation devoted to one of the important and simultaneously least consistently addressed topics in modern power systems engineering – the definition and measurement of electrical energy components in active distribution systems.

Throughout his doctoral studies, the student consistently demonstrated a high degree of professional maturity, systematic work habits, and strong scientific potential. He engaged actively and with enthusiasm in the research activities of the department, both within the specific scope of his dissertation topic and beyond. He further developed his research focus during international research stays with leading experts in the field (Prof. Roberto Langella, Prof. Jan Meyer) at the TU Dresden and the University of Campania, respectively. Jan Klusáček regularly published and presented the results of his work, contributed to applied research projects supported by the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic (TAČR) with practical outcomes for industry, actively participated in professional organisations (especially within the platform of the Czech National Committee of CIRED), and collaborated with industrial partners such as EG.D., ČEZ Distribuce, and SIEMENS. He also passed on his expertise through regular teaching and supervision of bachelor’s and master’s theses.

Jan Klusáček is the author or co-author of 28 scientific publications. Of these, 11 were presented at national conferences addressing primarily the domestic industrial community, and 17 were presented at international conferences, including 3 articles published in prestigious IEEE journals. He published two articles as main author, one in IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement (2024, AIS: D2) and one in the IEEE Open Access Journal of Power and Energy (2023, ESCI, AIS: D2), and prior to commencing his PhD studies he co-authored a paper in the IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics (2018, AIS: D3/Q1). He has been a co-investigator on 2 completed and 4 ongoing TAČR-funded research projects, producing outcomes such as a functional sample, a software tool, and an approved methodology (implemented by the Czech Ministry of Transport). Two of these projects are directly related to the dissertation topic—measurement and analysis of smart-meter data—while others focus, for example, on the integration of converter-based stations for supplying (high-speed) railway corridors into the power system. I consider the publication record and applied results achieved by Jan Klusáček to be excellent and clearly above standard in the field. The international impact of his work is further evidenced by his citations (WoS/Scopus excluding self-citations: 21/20; H-index: 3/3).

The core contribution of his dissertation lies in the comprehensive conceptualisation and interconnection of the physical definitions of power and energy components with their real-world implementation in metering devices and with their behaviour in the practical operation of active distribution networks. The author focuses on how to measure energy accurately and fairly in an environment shaped by actively controlled prosumers, characterised by rapid power-flow changes, phase asymmetries—precisely where current standards and metering practices face their limitations. The original contributions of the thesis include, in particular: the formulation of physically unambiguous objective criteria for evaluating energy exchange, enabling the distinction between actual converted energy and artefacts introduced by metering algorithms; a unique analysis and comparison of the dynamic properties of algorithms used in modern electricity meters; and a new method for quantifying losses and inefficient energy flows in distribution networks based on symmetrical power components. These results are not only scientifically original but also of substantial practical relevance for the development of metering methodologies, metrology, tariff principles, and the control of microgrids and energy communities.

Jan Klusáček has clearly demonstrated his readiness for independent scientific work, his ability for original thinking, and his competence in solving complex problems of modern power system engineering. I therefore recommend that his dissertation be accepted for defence, and that—upon successful defence—Jan Klusáček be awarded the academic degree of Doctor (Ph.D.). Points proposed by supervisor: 93

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