Unlocking grid potential with flexible interconnection via DERMS

We brought our expertise and experience in

• Distributed energy resource management systems (DERMS)
• Flexible interconnection strategies
• Real-time capacity allocation and optimization
• Value quantification frameworks for energy solutions
• Data-driven location mapping and resource planning

A power player in West Coast energy

With a history spanning more than a century, our client plays a pivotal role in supporting California’s infrastructure, providing electricity and natural gas to a vast 70,000-square-mile area. Serving over 15 million consumers, the utility relies on its workforce of more than 20,000 employees to deliver safe, reliable energy, even in the face of wildfire risks and other challenges.

Breaking through grid constraints to meet growing demand

As energy demands grow and DERs proliferate, utilities face significant challenges in managing grid capacity and delivering reliable service. For our client, the following challenges were particularly pressing:

Capacity constraints on existing infrastructure

Many existing sites were operating near or at capacity limits, leaving little room for growth without costly and time-intensive upgrades. Customers requiring increased capacity faced delays of two to four years, impacting their operations and the utility’s ability to generate additional revenue.

Prolonged onboarding for new customers

New customer sites often encountered similar delays, as the utility’s traditional planning process required infrastructure upgrades to meet fixed capacity requirements. These delays not only slowed revenue growth, but also hindered broader economic development opportunities.

Static, worst-case planning approaches

Conventional grid planning relied on fixed assumptions about peak load scenarios, ignoring the dynamic, real-time changes in grid conditions. This approach often left pockets of unused capacity untapped, further exacerbating delays and inefficiencies.

Scalability of distributed energy solutions

While DERs offered potential to address capacity issues, the utility faced difficulty in identifying optimal locations to pilot and scale these solutions. Mapping DER concentration to areas with the greatest grid needs was a complex but critical task for ensuring effective deployment.

To address these challenges, the utility needed a solution that could dynamically allocate capacity, accelerate new site onboarding, and inform scalable deployment strategies while justifying significant investments in a DERMS.

Innovating with flexible interconnection and dynamic scalability

To overcome grid capacity challenges and maximize the value of DERs, the utility implemented a flexible interconnection approach powered by DERMS. This solution provides dynamic, data-driven capabilities to address pressing infrastructure limitations while accelerating the deployment of new energy resources.

Dynamic capacity allocation

Flexible interconnection allows the utility to assign capacity dynamically, leveraging real-time grid conditions rather than relying on static, worst-case planning limits. This approach enables:

• Incremental energy delivery: Existing sites operating near capacity can utilize additional headroom, allowing for increased energy delivery without waiting for infrastructure upgrades.
• Accelerated onboarding: New customer sites can be brought online sooner, unlocking total energy delivery potential and driving faster revenue growth for the utility.

Quantifying value streams

To justify significant investments in DERMS, the utility developed frameworks to quantify two key value streams:

• Incremental value: The monetary benefit derived from serving additional capacity at existing sites without extensive upgrades
• Total value: The revenue generated from bringing new sites online sooner and delivering full capacity sooner than traditional methods allowed

This rigorous evaluation provides clear evidence of the utility’s return on investment, demonstrating the financial and operational benefits of flexible interconnection.

Strategic location mapping

Scaling the DERMS solution required identifying optimal locations for pilot programs and broader deployment. The utility achieved this through a detailed mapping process:

• DER concentration analysis: Identified areas with high DER penetration across various programs.
• Grid capacity need assessment: Pinpointed locations where grid deficiencies created the highest potential for value.
• Resource-need alignment: Overlaid DER concentration with grid constraints to prioritize locations that offer the greatest operational and financial benefits.

This strategic approach ensures that DERMS expansion is both targeted and scalable, setting the stage for broader deployment across the utility’s service area.

By integrating flexible interconnection, value quantification, and strategic scaling, the utility transformed its grid operations and positioned itself as a leader in modern energy management.

Unlocking value and scaling the grid: Results, insights, and impact

Implementing flexible interconnection and DERMS delivered measurable results, transforming the utility’s grid operations and providing critical insights for future scalability.

Key results and outcomes

Improved capacity utilization

By dynamically allocating capacity based on real-time grid conditions, the utility unlocks additional energy delivery potential without waiting for costly infrastructure upgrades. Incremental capacity can be leveraged at constrained sites, while new sites can be brought online faster, reducing delays from years to months.

Accelerated customer onboarding

Flexible interconnection enables new customer sites to begin operations sooner, leading to earlier revenue generation for the utility and faster operational readiness for customers. This approach is especially critical for large customers, such as electric vehicle charging stations and large energy storage sites, where delays could have significant economic impacts.

Increased return on DERMS investment

Rigorous quantification of incremental and total energy value provides clear evidence of the financial benefits derived from DERMS. These insights help justify the utility’s investment roadmap and demonstrate the value of leveraging DERMS for grid modernization.

Scalable deployment framework

Strategic location mapping allows the utility to identify optimal pilot sites and create a replicable framework for expansion. Thus, the utility ensures that future deployments can be prioritized based on both operational needs and DER concentration, supporting their long-term growth strategy.

Takeaways and strategic insights

Dynamic planning unlocks hidden potential

Traditional grid planning often underestimates the capacity available during real-time operations. By leveraging dynamic interconnection, the utility taps into unused headroom and delivers measurable benefits.

Value quantification builds investment confidence

Demonstrating the financial and operational value of DERMS investments is critical for securing support from internal stakeholders. A clear framework for evaluating incremental and total value streams helps validate the technology’s impact.

Data-driven decision making enables scalability

Overlaying DER concentration with grid needs provides the utility with a practical, scalable approach for deploying DERMS. This data-driven method ensures that future expansions will deliver maximum impact.

Customer-centric solutions enhance collaboration

Flexible interconnection not only benefits the utility, but also provides significant value to customers by reducing delays and improving energy availability. Aligning operational goals with customer needs fosters stronger partnerships and creates shared value.

Building a smarter, scalable energy future

The successful implementation of flexible interconnection via DERMS demonstrates how utilities can overcome traditional grid management challenges and unlock new opportunities for growth. By dynamically allocating capacity, quantifying the value of investments, and scaling solutions with a data-driven approach, our client has established a durable foundation for modern energy management.

This initiative not only addresses immediate capacity constraints, but also creates a scalable framework for integrating distributed energy resources and meeting future energy demands. The ability to bring new sites online faster and maximize existing infrastructure positions the utility to deliver greater value to its stakeholders while justifying investments in innovative technologies.

Michael Emmanuel is a Manager of Grid Operations with over 10 years of experience in utilities. He previously worked as a research engineer at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, where he helped utilities implement DERs and hosted capacity studies on non-wire alternatives and economic dispatch models. Michael’s areas of expertise include DER hosting capacity analysis, DERMS, ADMS, and production cost modeling.