IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - July/August 2019 - 80

play a critical role as part of the overall delivery system
because not every DER is located near critical load centers,
e.g., business districts in large metropolitan areas. Hybrid
electrical systems combining T&D with DERs and ESRs
hold promise for the overall efficient and reliable delivery
of electric service to customers.
As energy storage becomes more cost-effective and a viable
NWA, it is increasingly important to address the following:
1) The technical, regulatory, and economic barriers still
impede the adoption of ESRs, even in states with aggressive programs for deployment. It is widely understood that "shared applications," i.e., the utilization of
the same energy storage asset for various applications,
is key to realizing the best economic potential from
the technology. Regulatory paradigms should enable
the rapid adoption of these technologies and their most
effective applications. Energy storage fits into the generation, transmission, distribution, or customer buckets
and should not be forced to follow rules established for
just one asset class. Energy storage is a new asset class
of its own.
2) Procedures and tools need to be developed that optimize the siting and sizing of ESRs as well as perform
accurate benefit-cost analyses, including lifecycle
economics and market participation benefits. New
and advanced modeling and simulation methodologies and tools, including time-series analyses, are required for accurate evaluation.
3) It is important to understand the impacts of operating
the ESR from the wholesale level of the market, when
they are installed on the distribution grid. At times,
what is best for the wholesale market may actually be
counter to what is needed on the distribution circuit to
which the ESR is attached.

1,600
1,400
1,200
TWh

1,000
800
600
400
200

Coal
Nuclear

Natural Gas
Renewable

20
16
20
19
20
22
20
25
20
28
20
31
20
34
20
37
20
40
20
43
20
46
20
49

figure 3. The U.S. Energy Information Administration's
2018 Annual Energy Outlook Reference Case Forecast
of Net Generation from Coal, Natural Gas, Nuclear, and
Renewable Resources. [Source: The Department of Energy,
Energy Information Administration, 2018 Annual Energy Outlook, Reference Case Electricity Supply, Disposition, Prices
(2019); Nicholson and Quinn (2019).]
80

ieee power & energy magazine

Electrification
Electrification, where energy used for a service is changed
from a nonelectric source of energy to electricity, holds significant promise for increasing EE and reducing carbon footprints.
As such, electrification also has the potential to increase electricity usage and reverse trends of flat electrical energy growth.
Rapid changes in technology are impacting how and why enduse customers consume electricity, including the selection of
energy source. In addition to growing the use of electrical
transportation, there are additional opportunities in the industrial, commercial, and residential sectors as well.
The adoption of electric transportation is expected to continue increasing. In addition to personal light-duty vehicles,
transportation electrification includes public and commercial
transportation, such as buses, fleets (e.g., United Parcel Service
and FedEx), trucks, and light rail. As adoption increases, this
technology has the potential to provide flexible load-management opportunities for T&D grid management. Transportation
electrification represents a business opportunity for utilities
and requires a proactive approach to address business, technical, regulatory, and implementation concerns. A thorough
understanding and development of solutions that address technical issues on the T&D grid is vital. As shown in Figure 3,
renewables and natural gas-fired generation are expected to
meet the growth of demand and compensate for the retirement
of nuclear and coal-fired generation.

Demand Response
Using DR to alter electric load shapes has been common for
decades, and its strengths and weaknesses are well known. The
best candidates for DR are commercial/industrial customers.
Numerous residential DR programs are in operation as well;
however, not all of them provide meaningful contributions
to ERSs. Although the effects of load-shifting programs are
fairly predictable, multiday forecasts for interruptible/curtailable programs may be more difficult to provide with adequate
certainty. With advances in communications and control
technology, such forecasts will become simpler to accomplish. The aggregators could then be asked for a forecast, or at
least a model forecast, of what DR resources would be available at any given time. In the meantime, ERS applications of
DR should focus on commercial/industrial loads. Because of
potential gas interruptions, one of the ERS options to consider
is an analogous program aimed at natural gas loads: natural
gas DR. As numerous examples show, including Southern
Connecticut Gas Company, Excel Energy, Colorado Springs
Utilities, and Puget Sound Energy, many natural gas distribution/retail companies already offer interruptible service for
business customers and, in some cases, multifamily residential
customers. Gas DR could at least be a temporary option until
the requisite gas pipelines and storage are built.

Managing Modern and Future Grids
Energy management systems (EMSs) and their corresponding supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA)
july/august 2019

IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - July/August 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - July/August 2019