A new case study from PXiSE profiles utility WEL Networks’ successful first phase of a Distributed Energy Resource Management System (DERMS) pilot. The New Zealand utility is actively pursuing non-wires alternatives that can help maximize the number of distributed energy resources such as customer solar and EV chargers on the grid, and effectively manage or time-shift peak load.
A successful deployment of PXiSE’s DERMS means the utility could defer expensive capital expenditure, which would otherwise be necessary almost immediately to accommodate the projected increase of peak load on their power grid in excess of their security guidelines.
The pilot tested the DERMS under three high-level network scenarios:
- High distributed generation, low load scenario: Manage the impacts of high levels of distributed generation when customer loads are low.
- Low generation, high load scenario: Manage the impacts of high customer loads.
- Outage management: Simulate specific outage scenarios within the virtual network to test constraint management with different network configurations.
The WEL Networks DERMS pilot case study provides insight into the context and setup of the pilot, which incorporated customer distributed energy resources such as solar PV, battery storage, and electric vehicle charging stations, alongside WEL Networks network data.
