Introduction to PLMA's DER Grid Services - Past, Present, & Future

Richard Barone Oracle Utilities PLMA Chair

To fulfill their potential as grid resources, virtual power plants (VPPs) must do more than just reduce peak demand; they need to balance the grid as reliably and predictably as conventional generation. To this end, Duke and National Grid have demonstrated new capabilities of residential VPP programs by using automated cross-DER dispatch to achieve predetermined net load shapes during flexibility events. In this session, learn how Duke and National Grid leveraged dynamic load shaping to orchestrate groups of DERs, reduce snapback, prevent load shed decay, and maintain steady load shapes during flexibility events last summer. Attendees will see real examples of dynamic load shaping in action and explore applications such as managing wind and solar variability and maximizing load shed during unknown coincident peak hours. Moderator Paul Hines, VP Data Science at EnergyHub will give a closer look at the machine learning algorithms enabling dynamic load shaping.

Moderator Paul Hines VP, Power Systems EnergyHub

Brian Lusher Manager, Products & Services – Residential DSM Programs Duke Energy

Paul Wassink Distributed Energy Resources Program Manager National Grid

As part of its portfolio of solutions designed to meet the needs of a Non-Wires Alternative (NWA), Central Hudson enrolls Residential and Large Commercial & Industrial (C&I) customers to participate in its Targeted Demand Management (TDM) Program.

Central Hudson has a target of 16 MW of capacity within three specific load zones to defer investment towards transmission and distribution infrastructure, estimated to be worth $50 million. TDM enables the utility to shed load during peak demand hours and meet capacity goals, cost- effectively with high participant satisfaction.

Our DR team works closely with the New Business department to identify new utility customers with high demand. The team markets DR shortly following interconnection, highlighting revenue benefits and the need to alleviate grid stress. The utility has been able to scale the enrollment of large load customers by breaking down internal silos and engaging customers upstream.

Marwa Chowdhury Associate Program Manager DSM Central Hudson Gas & Electric

Cory Scofield Manager DSM Central Hudson Gas & Electric

Washington's largest utility, Puget Sound Energy (PSE), partnered with Uplight in 2021 to explore innovative load management solutions through a virtual power plant (VPP). PSE utilized Uplight's Flex platform to manage their demand response and distributed energy resources, dispatching enough capacity to counter system peaks during extreme weather. Beyond a commercial and industrial demand response program, PSE drives residential participation through a rewards program. With engagement from both residential and business customers, PSE has leveraged the VPP to shift load, improve grid reliability, and accelerate decarbonization efforts.

Following a successful launch, PSE plans to expand its VPP to reach 86 MW by 2025, incorporating electric vehicles, battery storage, and more in their portfolio. This session will discuss PSE’s journey to growing their VPP program, how they have expanded assets, lessons learned along the way, and their plans for 2025 and beyond.

Mitch Droz DR Program Manager Puget Sound Energy

Gisela Glandt VP of Virtual Power Plants Uplight

With rooftop penetration exceeding 37% across the continent, Australia is leading the way to a decentralized electricity grid by effectively integrating distributed energy resources (DERs). Grid operators are now expanding their focus to include other DERs, such as batteries, to enhance reliability while meeting the electrification demands of drivers and fleets. Dominique van den Berg from Energy Networks Australia and Colin Crisafulli from Endeavour Energy will discuss how the market and a progressive utility have successfully implemented strategies for large-scale DER interconnection. The presentation will highlight the value of low voltage network monitoring, the integration of utility systems, and the role of DER participation in virtual power plant (VPP) programs, all essential for driving a reliable electric grid toward Net Zero.

Moderator Richard McIndoe Chairman and CEO Edge Zero

Dominique van den Berg CEO Energy Networks Australia

Colin Crisafulli GM Customer Future Grid Endeavour Energy

Demand flexibility is the key to the grid of the future - which needs to be more reliable and greener than the grid of the past. To scale this rapidly, we need to incentivize and automate it and to do this across thousands of aggregated metered sites. Texas’ Aggregate Distributed Energy Resource (ADER) Pilot Project is an example of exactly this. The 80MW ADER pilot has been developed, approved, and is now in implementation. It has reached these milestones in record time, having only been announced in mid 2022. This session brings together key stakeholders in the ADER development to discuss history and learnings.

Moderator Dr. Sarah Russell-Smith Head of Flexibility Octopus Energy	Michael Lee ADER Task Force member, CEO Octopus Energy US	Doug Lewin Founder and President Stoic Energy
Arushi Sharma Frank Founder Luminary Strategies	Ryan King Manager, Market Design ERCOT

SMUD is deploying Next Gen AMI and integrating Distributed Intelligence capabilities with their ADMS/DERMS system to bring grid edge level monitoring and controls into real-time operations. The new functionality will enable data streams such as near real-time transformer loading feeding into the Power Flow model, Behind the Meter (BTM) DER controls via IEEE2030.5 and OpenADR, as well as better visibility to DER behavior like variability due to weather, detecting dispatch of non-controllable BTM DERs and EV charging. SMUD is working in partnership with their ADMS and AMI solution providers to enhance their ADMS/DERMS system to take full advantage of this Grid Edge Intelligence data and control. Operators will experience a more robust and accurate distribution management system with improved situational awareness, while progressively gaining controllability of BTM devices. This presentation will feature a discussion about an ongoing 2030.5 integration with a community of BTM Energy Storage.

Yevgeniy Postnov Senior Distribution Operations Engineer SMUD

Michael Witter Manager, Real Time Applications SMUD

The increasing levels of dispatchable demand-side flexibility, driven by the growth of DERs, smart devices, and building automation, enable the delivery of valued grid reliability and economic services through aggregated demand-side capabilities. As the boundaries between transmission and distribution operations blur, so does the source of services needed for reliable and economic power supply.

Dispatchable demand-side resources are cost-effective sources of grid services. This presentation will outline the technical and operational requirements for participation in the Grid Services programs and will provide the value of these services.

Case studies where customer-sited assets are utilized to support power system reliability will be presented. including HECO’s Grid Services for supply of reserves and Fast Frequency Response (FFR) from resources spanning from residential water heaters to large scale batteries. Other use cases outline distribution reliability and flexible interconnection grid services. Technical and operational requirements, along with regulatory and economic considerations will be presented.

Moderator Dr. Ali Ipakchi Executive VP OATI

Yoh Kawanami Director Hawaiian Electric Company

Lee Ragsdale Senior VP Energy Delivery North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives

Existing non-wires alternative (NWA) models in states like New York have allowed limited uptake of leveraging third-party DERs for the grid. Regulatory models like CT’s Innovative Energy Solutions (IES) program create a safe environment for utilities and technology innovators to test new ideas. Along with progressive utilities in the Northeast, namely National Grid, Eversource, and Avangrid, has come a new solution - democratized, technology-agnostic DER markets.

The panel will cover how the utilities are creating a more open environment for DERs to provide locational grid services across multiple use cases - NWAs, capacity shortfalls, maintenance events, and more - through a combination of technological, regulatory, program/market rules, and DER engagement innovation. The utilities will discuss lessons learned from past experience and ongoing projects with Piclo, and how other utilities and regulators can break down silos to spur innovation.

Moderator Alex Ghanem Northeast US Regional Lead Piclo	Timothy Knief Grid Modernization Regulatory Manager Eversource
Mike Crowley Manager, Smart Grid Innovation Programs UI	Mark Bremer Lead Program Developer, Energy Transition Solutions National Grid

Despite the spike in demand for electricity, we have been unable to build new capacity resources fast enough, and our grid infrastructure is hard-pressed to meet these unprecedented, fast-approaching challenges. DERs offer a quick and proven way to add new capacity, but they have rarely been deployed at scale to meet capacity needs.

In this session, panelists representing utilities, government and solution providers will discuss Distributed Capacity Procurement (DCP), a model for utilities to deploy DERs at scale by integrating them into planning as a capacity resource. The DCP model empowers utilities to lead the charge on planning, siting, deployment, and dispatch of DERs, offering a new way to navigate the energy transition. By leading on DER deployment, utilities can meet the scale, speed, and locational targeting that the grid needs in ways that third-party VPP aggregators cannot.

Pier LaFarge CEO Sparkfund

Jigar Shah Director of the Loan Programs Office U.S. DOE

Ryan Long President, MN ND SD Xcel Energy