national council on electricity policy

2018 NCEP Annual Meeting on The Status of Transmission and Distribution System Intersections: A Grid Revolution

Meeting Purpose & Approach:

  • Educate and engage NCEP members and colleagues on the current state of play for intersection points along the transmission and distribution grids.
  • Showcase examples of planning, operations, and market developments underway and needed for integrating higher levels of distributed energy resources (DER) into the distribution grid, and associated impacts and intersection points on the transmission grid.
  • Hear insights and lessons learned from state regulators, energy directors, utility managers, technologists, legislators, and consumer advocates who have been involved in recent DER-related distribution and transmission changes.
  • Highlight meeting participants’ own questions, experiences, and research needs. 

Background: As investments in new energy-related technologies, products, and activities are underway— many of which impact planning, operations, and markets along both the transmission and distribution parts of the grid—state policy-makers and others are being called upon to make decisions that will affect customer services and utility grid modernization efforts. Increasingly, energy decision makers at local, state, and regional levels are foreseeing that their decisions will impact how the grid operates at customer locations, across the distribution system, and into the transmission system. The intersection points of these stakeholders and systems are not fully understood, as technologies and processes are evolving all the time. 

NCEP’s 2018 annual meeting explored this evolution and specifically the impact that DERs are and will have on the transmission and distribution systems in the contexts of planning, operations, and markets. Such DERs include energy efficiency, distributed generation (e.g., solar photovoltaics), energy storage, demand response, electric vehicles, and more. 

Format: Each panel included two example “snapshots,” that highlight recent experiences with transmission and distribution grid intersections. During these snapshots, the following questions will be addressed, so that all state decision-makers will have the opportunity to learn from others’ experiences and make better informed decisions moving forward.

  • What is the policy backdrop that created the opportunity for this action or decision?
  • What was done? Who was involved? What went well and why?
  • What impact has the activity or initiative had in the state and/or on the grid?
  • What do you wish you would have known beforehand?
  • What would you advise other state level decision makers to do differently based on your experience?

Session descriptions and links to presentations follow.

Quick Links

Mini Guides

T&D Resource Catalog

2021 Annual Meeting: Coordinated Electricity Planning

2020 Annual Meeting: Compensation & Markets

Quick Links

Mini Guides

T&D Resource Catalog

2021 Annual Meeting: Coordinated Electricity Planning

2020 Annual Meeting: Compensation & Markets

Opening Sessions: Foundations - May 7-8, 2018

Optional Site Visit

NCEP Annual Meeting and Workshop participants were invited to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory for a presentation on its Distribution System 3D Visualization Model, as well as a short tour of the Energy Systems Integration Facility.

The Grid Revolution Underway – National Perspectives

Moderator: John Chatburn, Idaho Governor’s Office of Energy and Mineral Resources

Presenters:

Working Lunch: Updates from NCEP Partners

Speakers:

  • David Whiteley, Eastern Interconnection Planning Collaborative (EIPC)
  • Tanya McCloskey, Pennsylvania Office of Consumer Advocate, representing National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates (NASUCA)
  • Michael Dowd, Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, representing National Association of Clean Air Agencies (NACAA)
  • Glen Andersen, National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL)
  • Dan Lauf, National Governors Association (NGA)
  • Stephen Goss, National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO)

Section I: Planning for a More Integrated Grid - May 8, 2018

Planning for Distribution-Level Services that Support the Transmission System

Moderator: Honorable Paul Kjellander, Idaho Public Utilities Commission 

Snapshot Presenters:

  • Lorenzo Kristov, Electric System Policy, Structure, Market Design
  • Steve Rourke, Independent System Operator New England (ISO-NE) Download the presentation.

Regional Transmission Planning that Incorporates Non-Wires Solutions on the Distribution System

Moderator: Honorable Betty Ann Kane, DC Public Service Commission

Snapshot Presenters:

Snapshots & Input from Workshop Participants

Facilitator: Danielle Sass Byrnett, NARUC Center for Partnerships & Innovation

  • What other projects, policies, or examples offer insights into these topics? 
  • Where can attendees find good resources to inform their decision making?
  • What lingering questions do you have about this topic? What research is needed? 

Section II: Evolving Grid Operations - May 8, 2018

Evolving Transmission & Distribution System Operations: Examples of Enhanced Visibility, Coordination, and Communications

Moderator: Honorable Nick Wagner, Iowa Utilities Board

Snapshot Presenters:

Enhancing Transmission and Distribution System Interface for Resilience Benefits

Moderator: Tanya McCloskey, Pennsylvania Office of Consumer Advocate

Snapshot Presenters:

Snapshots & Input from Workshop Participants

Facilitator: Kerry Worthington, NARUC Center for Partnerships & Innovation

  • What other projects, policies, or examples offer insights into these topics? 
  • Where can attendees find good resources to inform their decision making?
  • What lingering questions do you have about this topic? What research is needed?

Section III: The Potential for Markets - May 9, 2018

DER Investments that Are Providing Services to the Transmission & Distribution System

Moderator: Honorable Elizabeth “Lib” Fleming, South Carolina Public Service Commission

Snapshot Presenters:

The Value of Distributed Energy Resources to the Grid

Moderator: Michael Dowd, Virginia Department of Environmental Quality

Snapshot Presenters:

Tracking Results and Quantifying DER Impacts on the Transmission and Distribution Systems

Moderator: Representative Tom Sloan, Kansas House of Representatives

Snapshot Presenters:

  • Rich Hydzik, Avista on behalf of NERC’s Essential Reliability Services Working Group and DER Task Force, DER Connection Modeling and Reliability Considerations Download the presentation
  • Grace Relf, ACEEE – What We Can Learn from Experiences with Energy Efficiency in Regional Markets Download the presentation

Snapshots & Input from Workshop Participants

Facilitator: Jan Brinch, National Council on Electricity Policy

  • What other projects, policies, or examples offer insights into these topics? 
  • Where can attendees find good resources to inform their decision making?
  • What lingering questions do you have about this topic? What research is needed? 

Luncheon Roundtable: Support for and Recognition of Customer Needs and Expectations

Moderator: Honorable Paul Kjellander, Idaho Public Utilities Commission 

NCEP Perspectives:

  • Alex Whitaker, Office of Governor John Hickenlooper, Colorado
  • Representative Jeff Morris, Washington House of Representatives 
  • John Chatburn, Idaho Governor’s Office of Energy and Mineral Resources 
  • Cindy Schonhaut, Colorado Office of Consumer Counsel