We've provided our perspective on the top investment for utilities to make in 2022, informed by our work with leading electric utilities. On January 26th, hear live from two utility leaders as they share their thoughts on the best investments for 2022. Register now.
For the past two years in Utility Dive's annual survey, utility leaders have listed "renewables, sustainability and the environment" as their top issues. Immediately behind them are wide-ranging concerns about system reliability, climate change, aging infrastructure, cybersecurity and regulatory reforms. It's safe to say that industry-wide changes are pulling utilities in multiple directions.
So as utilities put their investment plans into action, they naturally wonder: are we making the right choices?
The No-Regrets Investment for Every Utility
For the utilities we've worked with, one area of investment has repeatedly proven to be a powerful tool for managing change: grid-wide visibility.
Nearly every utility we've met lacks the visibility needed to safely integrate local renewables at scale, proactively manage distributed energy resources (DER) and monitor circuit-level grid conditions. Time and again we've heard utility leaders assume that they need to deploy millions of dollars in monitoring hardware or legions of IT staff to get reliable, near real-time visibility.
But that's not true.
Borrowing from industries like Big Tech and financial services, our grid management software integrates data from meters, DERs and utility IT and operational systems and applies proven machine learning techniques to fill gaps via smart inferences, accurately estimating local grid conditions.
Utilities with at least a 30% deployment of advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) can have real-time grid visibility just by investing in advanced grid management software.
The Transformative Power of Visibility
Among the many beneficial applications of grid visibility, we've observed three in particular that stand out.
1. Identifying high-stress transformers
By aggregating meter data into circuit-level groups, grid management software enables utilities to identify high-stress and low-stress transformers based on how often the transformers are operating near their rated limits. This helps utilities quickly and easily manage transformer upgrades, prioritize investments, estimate the grid's capacity to accommodate DER and find opportunities to enhance the value of under-utilized transformers.
One Colorado electric cooperative recently used Camus' transformer loading tool to instantly identify the twenty-five highest-loaded transformers on their system, replacing manual estimates for a system with more than 14,000 transformers.
2. Alerting and diagnosing voltage issues
As more DERs are deployed on low-voltage power lines, potentially harmful voltage deviations are growing more frequent. By integrating real-time voltage readings at meters and substations, software can help utilities identify, diagnose and mitigate deviations.
"When an installer interconnected a large rooftop solar system incorrectly, it was like they dropped a boulder into a creek. The voltage upstream just started rising – and we could see it right away, before anything or anyone got hurt." Distribution Engineer at a Mountain West Electric Cooperative.
3. Understanding changing customer loads
By integrating measurements from DER telemetry along with meter data tied to customer billing information, grid management software can provide utility engineers and data analysts with powerful insights into customer loads. It can group meters based on customer behavior profiles or customer-owned DERs or other technologies and then model load profiles for those groups. The results can inform design of utility programs and identify grid impacts of DERs, ultimately helping utilities better understand and serve their communities.
Getting More From Existing AMI Data
Utility Dive has reported that utilities have made significant AMI investments, yet most companies have barely tapped into the value of their AMI data.
"Utilities are consistently surprised by how much they can do with the data they already have." Astrid Atkinson, CEO, Camus Energy.
We have observed how advanced grid management software can increase the value of AMI data by integrating it with other datasets to enable more robust visibility. This can bolster support for future investments at public utility commissions or with local boards of directors.
In New Mexico, Kit Carson Electric Cooperative is using its AMI data to forecast unmetered solar generation on members' roofs. This novel use of meter data helps the utility manage a grid with nearly 100% of its daytime energy supply from local solar generation.
Laying the Foundation for a Distributed Grid
Beyond near-term benefits, investing in software-enabled visibility and control also lays the foundation for utilities to become Distribution System Operators or DSOs. A key DSO responsibility will be to tap local DERs for grid services and enhanced resilience and share the resulting cost savings throughout the community.
"We're moving towards a future where every home and business can offer energy services to their community. The DSO makes that possible." Astrid Atkinson, CEO, Camus Energy.
Hear Live From Two Electric Co-op Pioneers: The Best Utility Investments for 2022
On January 26th at Distributech, two forward-thinking utility leaders, Chris Bilby of Holy Cross Energy and Luis Reyes Jr. of Kit Carson Electric Cooperative, will join Astrid Atkinson, Camus Energy's CEO, for a lively discussion about investing for the future.
Register now to hear Chris and Luis share their thoughts live and receive a summary after the show.
