Energetica India 89 - May 2020

POWER SECTOR 47 energetica INDIA- May_2020 Modernization Plans Target DER-Ready Distribution Systems Decentralization mandates a different kind of planning to that which utilities have done in the past, and utilities likely will want to bring analytics into the process. With analytics, power providers will be able to look at the grid through multiple lenses, including what-if scenarios for DER growth, which assets to tap to achieve optimal eco- nomics, and where to place asset management devices like sensors, volt/VAR equipment and more. That’s in addition to what may be coming down the road in the future. Here’s a bit of irony: The key drivers of the investments that utilities are making in distribution system modernization stem from assets that utilities often don’t own. In this case, we’re talking about dis- tributed energy resources (DER) such as rooftop solar arrays, electric vehiclesand battery energy storage systems. DER is by far the top application that utilities globally are planning to sup- port in the short to medium term. Near- ly three-quarters of respondents to our 2019 Strategic Directions: Smart Utilities Report cited DER in general as shap- ing their distribution infrastructure in the coming years, while some 56 percent named electric vehicle (EV) charging. Nearly half named battery storage, both of which also are DER that someday could be controlled and dispatched to support the overall power system. That’s where we’re headed. What’s Going On Planning is one of the biggest challenges that DER presents to utilities, which pre- viously looked mostly at their own assets. So is it time to install new conductors? New transformers? What will be need- ed to support peak loads? Utilities also need to factor in the various resources and assets that customers want to pile onto the electric system. Decentralization mandates a different kind of planning to that which utilities have done in the past, and utilities likely will want to bring analytics into the pro- cess. With analytics, power providers will be able to look at the grid through mul- tiple lenses, including what-if scenarios for DER growth, which assets to tap to achieve optimal economics, and where to place asset management devices like sensors, volt/VAR equipment and more. That’s in addition to what may be coming down the road in the future. Most utilities already are studying how behind-the-meter resources impact the grid. Many also are looking at how the utility can use customer assets — like smart inverters — to aid in things such as volt/VAR management or whether the resource could come into play as some sort of additional capacity in an emer- gency. Some utilities also are starting to ques- tion the optimal place for customers to add generation resources, particularly big ones like megawatt-scale storage or microgrids. One US utility recently of- fered to subsidize a local university for putting in DER to take load off of a sub- station. The project would spare the util- ity expensive substation upgrades in the coming years. Another utility used Black & Veatch an- alytics tools to map out how to achieve its goal of entirely renewable energy by 2045. Those analytics reveal how de- centralization was likely to occur, when to green up different parts of the system, and where and when to replace fossil-fu- el-based generation with wind or solar power. The game plan is expected to shave time off the utility’s original plan. What Counts Along with delivering valuable data — consumption data and power-quality metrics — AMI facilitates grid-support- ive initiatives like time-based rates and targeted load shedding that can deliv- er a non-wires means of deferring grid upgrades and investments. These are some of the reasons why our 2019 Strate- gic Directions: Smart Utilities Report sur- vey respondents picked AMI as the top distribution automation solution planned at their utility. It was the choice of more than three-quarters of respondents. Fault location, isolation and service restoration (FLISR) technology came in as the sec- ond most-favored choice, earning a thumbs-up from two-thirds of respon- dents. Advanced distribution manage- ment systems were up there, too, with a nod from 62 percent of survey takers. All of these upgrades bring in loads of data, but there is a big difference be- tween receiving data and being able to use it. Utilities recognize this, likely ex- plaining why integrating DER and asset Paul McRoberts, Gary Johnson Heather Sanders & Rajiv Menon Black & Veatch