The topic of this paper is the methods of developing the electrical distribution network. At the beginning of the work, the distribution network is described, and the main characteristics are listed. Then it moves on to traditional development methods, the current state of the network is analysed, the plan for the construction of new objects for both transformation and transmission is presented, and the assessment of future needs for electricity supply is presented. After that, modern methods of network development are presented, the principle of the smart grid, distributed resources and their impact on several aspects are explained, and the applications used in planning are presented. Furthermore, network planning is presented, where it is discussed about the time course and the data that needs to be collected for precise planning, as well as applications that can be used to create a network model using the collected data. Then it talks about the security of customer supply as well as the methods used for this. The last part of the paper presents the guidelines that must be met based on economic justification.