Duke Energy has installed several distribution level microgrids, forcing it to adapt its enterprise evaluation process. Speakers in this session will present Duke Energy’s electromagnetic transient (EMT) study methodology for microgrid applications. These range from power quality, protection/ fault detection, effective system grounding, blackstart/load restoration, to additional transient stability simulations. Because steady state evaluations no longer capture the anticipated operating characteristics Duke Energy has shifted to an (EMT) based evaluation process for all microgrid applications. Developed within Duke Energy by the Microgrid Technical Standards Committee (MGTSC), the study process defines a scope of work for partial feeder islands to single customers islands. The presenters will discuss the function and yearly review process of the MGTSC study scope and evaluation criteria.

The rapid deployment of distributed generation challenges utilities for both reliability and power quality. In this session, speakers will present use cases that illustrate how continuous power quality monitoring, alerting, and automatic report generation allow utilities to stay ahead of problems related to distributed generation. They will discuss how maintaining the basics of voltage regulation and imbalance has become event more difficult with rapidly fluctuating distributed generation output leading to more complex power quality problems such as flicker, rapid voltage change, and instantaneous excursions. They’ll also discuss the tools available to help utilities leverage the IEEE 1547 and 2800 standards to ensure operators of distribution generation are doing their part to maintain distribution power quality.

Virtual power plants (VPPs), even those created by utilizing lower-tech assets such as water-heater timers and smart thermostats, play a pivotal role in addressing challenges posed by intermittent renewable energy generation, bi-directional power flow, and increased electrification. Recognizing the limitations of traditional Integrated Resource Planning (IRP) and Distribution System Planning (DSP), this presentation introduces Integrated System Planning (ISP) as the next evolutionary step to help identify cost-effective VPPs that otherwise cannot be identified with more traditional planning approaches. Specifically, the presentation will explain how ISP allows utilities to more accurately determine trade-offs between traditional investments and distributed system investments (i.e., VPPs), as well as how VPPs have benefits beyond capacity that should be included when assessing their cost against traditional solutions.

Tata Power is India's largest integrated power company. It generates 14,464 MW, with 39% coming from clean energy sources. In this session, speakers from Tata Power will discuss their first-hand experiences in technology deployment, challenges faced and DERMS adoption for effective management of its large number of DER installations, including selection of IoT solutions. The utility’s EV charging network includes 48,000 charging points in 350 cities, 1650 MW of installed rooftop solar energy, 60,000 solar pumps and 194 microgrids deployed in rural areas. In addition, Tata Power installed India's first 10 MW grid-connected battery storage system, and delivers power to more than 40,000 home automation solutions and adopted green switchgears. It has also implemented demand response programs in Delhi and Mumbai for peak load curtailment. The large number of DER implementations mentioned here, make Tata power frontrunner in India as well as one of the global leaders when it comes to new DER-related technology development and adoption. The discussion will include new technology development for distributed EV charging infrastructure monitoring, and the deployment of smart meters that empower customers with mobile applications that allow them to monitor consumption and optimize power usage.

With the fast growth and large amount of distributed energy resources (DERs) on the grid, the need to improve grid DER management capabilities is urgent. As the industry begins to better understand customer types and different behavior profiles, it is now possible to predict load and DER with much better focus and accuracy. In this session, presenters will discuss clear strategies to help prioritize and coordinate between multiple tools, such as DERMS, ADMS, OMS, and FLISR, creating a pathway forward that best allocates resources and effectively leverage various technology and regulatory requirements to achieve the best outcome. DERs can be volatile due to the nature of renewable energy sources, and also hard to predict because a lot of those sources are behind-the-meter—owned by customers with the utility having little to no visibility and control. However, DERs are flexible and can be mobilized and paused very quickly. With thousands to millions now existing on electric grids and millions more on the way, well predicted, monitored, and managed DERs can be powerful tools to support the electric grid's flexibility, reliability and power quality. For years, AMI meter data has been analyzed and studied allowing utilities and their technology and consulting partners to characterize customer load and DER behaviors. Speakers will explain how this knowledge paired with good load and DER generation forecasting allows utilities to leverage existing and new grid-edge devices that turn DER into a tool to manage the grid instead of a burden.