Distributed Energy Resource Management Systems
About this Technology
A distributed energy resources management system (DERMS) is a software platform that monitors, forecasts, controls, and coordinates a variety of distributed energy resources (DERs), including generation, storage, and loads, such as solar, wind, battery storage, smart thermostats, and electric vehicle (EV) charging. As the impacts of DERs are broad, DERMS can often take various forms, such as an aggregation service over a large fleet of DERs, customer engagement services to maximize the value of their DERs, a utility grid management and orchestration system, a utility program management system, a virtual power plant (VPP) aggregating DERs for wholesale or distribution level markets and programs, and a field level automation controller for fast and resilient local grid management. Demand response management systems (DRMS) can be seen as a subset of DERMS for load management.
Source. EPRI. Understanding DERMS.
Source. EPRI. Understanding DERMS.
Source. EPRI. Understanding DERMS.
Use in the Modern Grid
DERMS, with its many capabilities, is a necessary component to enable FERC Order 2222. Core use cases include DER aggregation, forecasting, DER asset management, VPP services for market participation, and ensuring the grid is safe, reliable, and resilient for DERs under various levels of market participation. DERMS can also support aggregation of DER types and vendors.
Physical Location
This technology is implemented via software systems that can be cloud-based, on-site, or decentralized across the grid.
Pilot Program
Pacific Gas & Electric completed a pilot program in San Jose in 2019 with DERMS software. Funded by the Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC) charge, it connected two aggregator platforms and includes up to 150 residential and 10 commercial customers with solar arrays and energy storage systems. See PGE’s EPIC 2018 Annual Report, for more information.
What changes are needed to support FERC order 2222?
In addition to DERMS, to support DER participation in wholesale markets, a wholesale market management system with utility advanced distribution management system (ADMS) software for grid-safe market participation is required. Additionally, systems that support DER aggregation such as virtual power plant services will be needed. Coordination between these systems — often owned and operated by different entities — is complex and will require these organizations to share plans for integration and communication of systems going forward.
Technology Dependencies
For DERMS to be implemented in support of FERC Order 2222, DER communications (e.g., IEEE2030.5) and ADMS are needed.
More Information
Explore these resources to learn more about DERMS.
