Using Grid Edge Intelligence and Behind-the-Meter DERs to Manage Service Transformers and Enable Electrification

SMUD has arguably the most aggressive decarbonization goals of any large municipal or investor-owned utility in North America – to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2030. A key aspect of achieving this goal is to electrify transportation and buildings as rapidly as possible, while maintaining reliability and minimizing the need to upgrade distribution infrastructure – a difficult task that requires innovative technologies and solutions. 

To this end, SMUD designed a pilot program to demonstrate the ability to use grid edge intelligence in combination with behind-the-meter batteries to proactively manage and shape net load at the service transformer level – with the overall objective of creating as much “headroom” for short-term load growth without upgrading the service transformer or compromising reliability. Another key aspect of the pilot was to leverage open standards messaging between the DERMS platform and the batteries, so that the solution is scalable and sustainable over the long term.

In this session, the project sponsors from SMUD will provide an overview of this pilot program, the technology solution stack, some early results, and lessons learned. Utilities will learn about the technology challenges, programmatic challenges, and operational challenges associated with using behind-the-meter DERs for this emerging class of DER programs powered by grid edge intelligence.