North American electrical utilities proceed to grapple with the problem of managing behind-the-meter distributed power assets (DERs), in response to the outcomes of a survey of utility decision-makers revealed Feb. 15.
A research of 100 leaders from utilities within the U.S. and Canada, commissioned by Siemens and carried out in partnership with Oxford Economics, discovered that “restricted visibility and understanding of DER conduct creates operational challenges and impacts grid efficiency.” Knowledge from the survey launched Thursday exhibits that whereas “options comparable to distributed power useful resource administration methods (DERMS) exist … information exhibits adoption to be gradual.”
Oxford Economics, a UK-based group with operations in a number of international locations, is taken into account one of many prime teams for thought management, world financial forecasting, and econometric evaluation.
The joint report, titled “Seeing behind the meter: How electrical utilities are adapting to the surge in distributed power assets,” offers insights into how Canadian and U.S. utilities are responding to the fast tempo at which behind-the-meter power assets are being deployed. Knowledge from the research “reveals the extent to which utilities are challenged by behind-the-meter distributed power assets and the advantages that elevated DER visibility may allow,” in response to Siemens. Among the many findings are that utilities ought to perceive the significance of investing in applied sciences to spice up visibility of belongings which can be behind the meter, and should additionally prioritize DER administration packages “for a extra dependable and secure grid.” The research additionally mentioned energy mills ought to strengthen “buyer belief to spice up participation in administration packages.”
“The complexities related to behind-the-meter DERs are a big problem to electrical energy distribution utilities in North America,” mentioned Marcus McCarthy, SVP of Siemens Grid Software program, U.S. and Mexico. “Expertise might help by offering actionable insights into the alternatives and challenges of those assets to enhance grid resilience. The software program and digitalization instruments we implement as we speak, is not going to solely enhance capability, however assist in reliability— laying the inspiration for an autonomous and superior clear grid of the longer term.”
Power Customers Are Now Producers
The report highlights the rise of the “prosumer,” or how passive power customers have been become producers of electrical energy. Siemens wrote that “This transition is a chance to faucet into different sources of energy and enhance the resilience of the grid to fulfill sustainability targets.” An issue, although, is {that a} lack of behind-the-meter visibility means utilities are challenged “in designing cost-effective packages and monitoring.”
The survey discovered that at the least half of the utilities responded that they “have skilled a rise within the adoption of photo voltaic panels (64%) and electrical automobiles (50%) over the previous three years,” and that 59% of respondents mentioned they anticipate elevated penetration of batteries into the market within the subsequent three years.
McCarthy instructed POWER that visibility into all behind-the-meter DERs would enhance utilities’ planning, operations and buyer program departments. “From a planning perspective, this is able to assist with allocation of capital investments, lengthen grid infrastructure asset life and scale back prices. It could additionally help the utility in understanding if the present charge case remains to be legitimate from the standpoint of an asset lifespan or by making a charge case for funding primarily based on empirical working information relating to DER impacts on the community,” McCarthy mentioned. “The operations division would expertise a discount of their SAIDI [System Average Interruption Duration Index] and SAIFI [System Average Interruption Frequency Index] metrics, elevated productiveness by means of higher and sooner community drawback root trigger evaluation and decreased O&M [operations and maintenance] prices by means of a greater understanding of the working situations of distribution community tools.”
The report mentioned that “greater than half of respondents anticipate visibility into the conduct and placement of all behind-the-meter DERs to learn their operations division by decreasing their SAIDI and SAIFI metrics and rising productiveness.” As automation turn out to be extra prevalent, and grids transfer towards autonomy, Siemens mentioned there are three key findings from the report which may be related:
- Put money into the applied sciences that increase visibility behind the meter—a necessity for utilities to efficiently navigate the power transition and future-proof the grid.
- Prioritize methods like demand-side and DER administration packages for elevated flexibility behind the meter.
- Strengthen buyer belief to spice up participation in administration packages.
McCarthy offered examples of how DER visibility advantages asset administration, and buyer engagement. “Understanding the altering asset situation influence for distribution transformers may be vital for fireplace danger administration as ~4% of distribution transformers have a flame out after they fail,” McCarthy mentioned. “Lastly, buyer engagement departments would profit from a discount in DER measurement and verification prices, serving to to scale and focus DER adoption packages to make sure the utility allows buyer adoption of DERS with minimal influence on community infrastructure and consistent with utility carbon emission targets.”
Operational Challenges
The report mentioned the operational challenges attributable to behind-the-meter DERs “are recognized however tough to deal with as a result of lack of visibility,” with a necessity for extra readability concerning the location of DERs, their dimension, and their exercise. A whopping 70% of respondents mentioned they “depend on interconnection requests and/or integrations with platforms like distributed power useful resource administration methods (DERMS) to collect details about the situation of behind-the-meter DERs.”
The utilities mentioned that on common they’ve visibility solely into 36% of DERs on the facility grid by means of DERMS or different platforms, which creates operational points. Different challenges, in response to nearly 75% of respondents, are that buyer adoption of behind-the-meter DERs brings voltage visibility and management points, together with issues comparable to back-feeding, safety and management coordination points, distribution transformer and conductor overloads, and in addition masked or hidden masses.
The research discovered that demand-side administration packages—people who incentivize clients to alter their patterns of electrical energy use, comparable to working home equipment at off-peak occasions—are one answer. Greater than two-thirds of utilities within the survey mentioned they’re implementing such packages, with plans to increase the methods within the subsequent 5 years.
McCarthy mentioned, “To foster this collaboration, utilities are already implementing demand-side administration packages which incentivizes clients to change power consumption, manufacturing and storage patterns. Now, it’s these similar fashions that may assist create a payoff for purchasers to opt-in and permit their utility to handle their DERs which has remained difficult to this point. ”
Siemens experiences, although, that solely 37% of utilities are working DER administration packages, which includes communication and administration by grid operators of DERs to allow supply of grid companies to assist balancing demand for energy with the electrical energy provide. That technique is often one the place clients should opt-in to allow that communication and utility administration. That helps clarify why solely 35% of shoppers take part in DER administration schemes, whereas 54% are concerned in incentive-based demand-side packages.
McCarthy instructed POWER, “The U.S. energy grid has been known as each the ‘best machine ever constructed’ and the ‘nice enabler’ of our best improvements, but the connection between utility and buyer should adapt to trendy occasions. As most utilities anticipate to expertise progress in penetration of behind-the-meter DERs within the subsequent three years by way of photo voltaic panels, EVs, warmth pumps and batteries, that is not a easy one-direction provider-to-user dynamic. As a substitute, each events could be employed to extend safety and reliability of the grid whereas advancing a inexperienced power future.”
—Darrell Proctor is a senior affiliate editor for POWER (@POWERmagazine).
