IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - March/April 2022 - 22

In New York, developers (aggregators) operate/control
DERs based on need assessments conducted by utilities
in accordance to design parameters. The role of stakeholders
in NWA planning and decision steps is limited
to providing input and feedback about the methodology
and framework adopted by utilities. One of the highlights
in Hawaiian Electric's proposed integrated grid planning
in 2018 was a multilevel stakeholder engagement that
included designing different utility-led working groups.
The groups advised the utility by providing input and
feedback on the methodology of different steps, from load
and DER forecasting to NWA decisions and benefit-cost
analysis. While stakeholders' engagement is necessary to
promote a transparent and increased integration of NWA
into the electric grid, given the highly technical and critical
nature of utility planning and operations, there are
some considerations to be made to effectively involve third
parties without compromising the reliability of the distribution
system.
Conclusions
Until recently, this summary would have been limited to
California and New York. Today, a significant portion
of the United States has legislation, commission orders,
and investigations underway. The NWA concept is gaining
momentum. Details regarding definitions, frameworks,
scopes, roles, and responsibilities are rapidly
evolving. Regulators, stakeholders, and utilities are still
very much in a learning mode concerning constructing
and implementing a streamlined NWA-related framework
and process.
Utilities are responsible for grid investment plans to
ensure the reliable, safe, and equitable delivery of power
to consumers in a cost-effective manner. DERs can and
should be an integral part of grid planning in a systematic
way, as they can realize avoided-cost benefits, among
others. Besides the theoretical questions about how to
calculate and capture the benefits, there are numerous
planning, policy, and implementation considerations to be
accounted for to seamlessly integrate NWAs into utility
planning and operations.
Frameworks for lowering grid costs through DERs
continue to be evaluated. However, to have an accurate
and fair evaluation, there should be a two-by-two matrix
of costs and benefits on both axes. While a final decision
will incorporate the direct costs of a DER solution
(via a request-for-proposals process, for example), benefits
beyond solving immediate planning problems are not
considered. For instance, the benefit of a grid investment
in terms of increasing hosting capacity is not taken into
account in most frameworks. The value of the grid has
been taken for granted for decades, but now it needs to be
assessed against the value of DERs. This and other issues
will have to be resolved through time as the NWA concept's
implementation evolves and matures.
22
ieee power & energy magazine
Articles in the popular media focused on decarbonization
and electrification have recently begun mentioning that
major grid investments will be needed to accommodate the
electrification of transportation, buildings, industry, and
even agriculture. Decarbonization leads to increased distributed
renewable resources, e.g., DERs, so planning the grid
investments needed in the short-to-medium term to enable
full-bore electrification in the medium-to-longer term
will necessarily include integrated planning and NWAs.
Today's NWA planning efforts can be seen as the first
steps in developing a process for grid investments supporting
electrification.
For Further Reading
" Locational value of distributed energy resources, " Lawrence
Berkeley National Lab., Berkeley, CA, USA, Feb.
2021. [Online]. Available: https://eta-publications.lbl.gov/
sites/default/files/lbnl_locational_value_der_2021_02
_08.pdf
" Decision on track 3 policy issues, sub-track 1 (growth
scenarios) and sub-track 3 (distribution investment and
deferral process., " Public Utilities Commission of the
State of California, Feb. 2018. [Online]. Available: https://
docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Published/G000/M209/
K858/209858586.PDF
" In the matter of the Potomac electric power company's
notice to construct two 230kv underground circuits
from the Takoma substation to the rebuilt Harvard substation,
and from the rebuilt Harvard substation to the rebuilt
Champlain substation (capital grid project), " Public Service
Commission of the District of Columbia, Washington, DC,
USA, FC 1144, Order No. 20274, Dec. 20, 2019. [Online].
Available: https://edocket.dcpsc.org/apis/api/filing/download?
attachId=89309&guidFileName=fcdaeaa9-2776-42eb-af01
-b527de008f12.pdf
" DPS-Reforming the energy vision, " New York State.
Accessed: Sep. 13, 2021. [Online]. Available: http://www3
.dps.ny.gov/W/PSCWeb.nsf/All/C12C0A18F55877E785257
E6F005D533E?OpenDocument
DSP Communications and Coordination Manual-Draft,
Joint Utilities of New York, 2021. [Online]. Available: https://
jointutilitiesofny.org/sites/default/files/JU_DSP_Comms
_Coordination_Manual_DRAFT_2.pdf
N. M. Frick, S. Price, L. C. Schwartz, N. L. Hanus, and
B. Shapiro, " Locational value of distributed energy resources, "
Electricity Markets & Policy. https://emp.lbl.gov/
publications/locational-value-distributed-energy (accessed
Dec. 12, 2021).
Biographies
Khashayar Mahani is with Quanta Technology, Brooklyn,
New York, 11201, USA.
Farnaz Farzan is with Quanta Technology, Livingston,
New York, 07039, USA.
p&e
march/april 2022

https://eta-publications.lbl.gov/sites/default/files/lbnl_locational_value_der_2021_02_08.pdf https://eta-publications.lbl.gov/sites/default/files/lbnl_locational_value_der_2021_02_08.pdf https://eta-publications.lbl.gov/sites/default/files/lbnl_locational_value_der_2021_02_08.pdf https://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Published/G000/M209/K858/209858586.PDF https://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Published/G000/M209/K858/209858586.PDF https://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Published/G000/M209/K858/209858586.PDF https://edocket.dcpsc.org/apis/api/filing/download?attachId=89309&guidFileName=fcdaeaa9-2776-42eb-af01-b527de008f12.pdf https://edocket.dcpsc.org/apis/api/filing/download?attachId=89309&guidFileName=fcdaeaa9-2776-42eb-af01-b527de008f12.pdf https://edocket.dcpsc.org/apis/api/filing/download?attachId=89309&guidFileName=fcdaeaa9-2776-42eb-af01-b527de008f12.pdf http://www3.dps.ny.gov/W/PSCWeb.nsf/All/C12C0A18F55877E785257E6F005D533E?OpenDocument http://www3.dps.ny.gov/W/PSCWeb.nsf/All/C12C0A18F55877E785257E6F005D533E?OpenDocument http://www3.dps.ny.gov/W/PSCWeb.nsf/All/C12C0A18F55877E785257E6F005D533E?OpenDocument https://www.jointutilitiesofny.org/sites/default/files/JU_DSP_Comms_Coordination_Manual_DRAFT_2.pdf https://www.jointutilitiesofny.org/sites/default/files/JU_DSP_Comms_Coordination_Manual_DRAFT_2.pdf https://www.jointutilitiesofny.org/sites/default/files/JU_DSP_Comms_Coordination_Manual_DRAFT_2.pdf https://emp.lbl.gov/publications/locational-value-distributed-energy https://emp.lbl.gov/publications/locational-value-distributed-energy

IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - March/April 2022

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