Meeting #52 - Distributed Energy Resources Impacts 

Date - March 11, 2019

Location - PECO, 25th Floor Meeting Room (A&B), 2301 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA

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Agenda - pdf

Customers in MADRI states are increasingly turning to distributed energy resources (DERs) to meet their own energy-related goals, especially for cost savings, environmental sustainability, and resilience. This includes all manner of DERs: distributed generation (DG), energy storage, energy efficiency (EE), demand response (DR) and flexible loads, and electric vehicles (EVs). The deployment of DERs on a utility’s distribution system usually has little or no impact on system capacity needs or costs, when deployment levels are very low, but at higher deployment levels DERs can have a significant impact on distribution system needs and costs, either as a driver for increased costs or as a solution that reduces the need for infrastructure investments.

This meeting will focus primarily on the distribution system impacts of DERs and the associated costs and benefits. There will also be an update on the development of a MADRI guide to integrated distribution planning (IDP), which relates to and is informed by this topic of DER-related cost allocation. Finally, the meeting agenda will also include updates from PJM staff on storage and DER interconnection issues.

AGENDA 

9:30 – 10:00am           Networking with attendees

10:00 – 10:15am          Introductions
The Honorable Harold Gray, Commissioner, DE Public Service Commission
John Shenot, Regulatory Assistance Project

10:15 – 11:30am           Impacts of DERs on Distribution System Infrastructure Needs
Sal Salet, PPL Utilities
Evan Hebert, PECO
John Leana, Energy and Environmental Economics, Inc. (E3)

We’ll start the day with an examination of some of the ways that DER deployment can drive the need – or alleviate the need – for distribution system infrastructure investments. This will include insights from a utility perspective, as well as a discussion about how DER impacts – and thus, costs and benefits – can vary by location. We’ll also hear about how utility commissions in other regions are weighing these issues.

11:30am – Noon      Progress Report and Discussion of MADRI Guide to Integrated Distribution Planning (IDP)
John Shenot, Regulatory Assistance Project

This session will offer an update on the status of developing the MADRI Guide to IDP, the plan for completing the guide, and opportunities for stakeholder input.

Noon – 12:45pm            Lunch

12:45 – 2:00pm              Electric Vehicles and the Distribution Grid
Dr. Nancy Ryan, Energy and Environmental Economics, Inc. (E3)
Mark Warner, Gabel Associates
Joey Chen, MD Public Service Commission

Electric vehicles (EVs) were last on a MADRI agenda almost two years ago. Given the rate of change in EV and charging infrastructure issues, much has changed. In this panel we’ll review some of the key trends and recent developments and look at recent studies of EV impacts on the distribution grid.

2:00 - 3:00pm                 PJM Updates on DER Issues
Andrew Levitt, PJM
Laura Walter, PJM
Lori Murphy Lee, PJM

PJM staff will present on two topics of interest to MADRI stakeholders: 1) an update on PJM’s storage filing in response to FERC Order 841 and some potential implications for the distribution system; and 2) an update on PJM’s IEEE 1547 taskforce.

3:00 – 3:15pm              Wrap-Up, Adjournment
The Honorable Harold Gray, Commissioner, DE Public Service Commission
John Shenot, Regulatory Assistance Project