Stablegridoperationsinafutureofdistributedelectricpower®WhitePaper3Theelectricityutilityindustryiscurrentlyundergoingthelargestdisruptionsinceitsinceptionmorethanacenturyago.Drivenbythefiveglobalfactorsofdecarbonization,decentralization,deregulation,democratizationanddigitalization,adiversesetofdevicesinvolvingvariousdisruptiveresourcesarenowconnectedtotheelectricitygrid–devicesthataregenerallyownedandoperatedbyelectricitycustomersanddeployed“behindthemeter”.Thesedisruptiveresourcesarecausinggridoperatorstorethinkhowtheelectricitygridwillbemanaged,becauseunliketraditionalgenerationsources,theseresourcesareofteninvisibletothegridoperator(limitedvisibility),outsideofthecontrolofthegridoperator(limitedcontrol),characterizedbyhard-to-anticipategenerationandconsumptionlevels(limitedpredictability)anddeployedwithoutcentralplanning(limitedcoordination).ThechallengesposedbydisruptiveresourcesarecoveredinSection1andthedrivingfactorsbehindtheirriseinSection2.Asisthecasewithalldisruptiveinnovations,followingachaoticperiodinwhichmarketplayersandtechnologieshavebeenfranticallysearchingfortheoptimalapproachtotheirintegration,anewequilibriumisemerging.Gridoperatorstodayareworkingtoaccommodatethatnewequilibriumbychangingoperationaltechniques.Marketdesignsareallowingforatransitionfromasituationinwhichthesenewresourcesconstituteproblematicelementstooneinwhichresultingdeviceswillenableafutureofcleaner,cheaperandmorereliablepower.Tounderstandthisfuture,importantconceptsrelatedtomanagingthegridarecoveredinSection3,withanumberofmarket-basedconstructsformanagingdeliveredservicesbeingcoveredinSection4.InSection5,thisWhitePaperoverviewssomeofthemethodsbywhichnewresourcesarecurrentlybeingincorporatedingridoperationsthroughbothreliability-basedandeconomics-basedstructures.Againstthisbackground,thepaperthenexaminessomeofthetrendsdeterminingthedevelopmentofmajorcomponentsofthefuturemodelforgridoperations,withtechniquesforanincentivedemand-sideresponsebeingcoveredinSection5andtechnologies...
