Decarbonization goals are leading a transition towards higher penetrations of renewables and electrified loads, and while the technical merits of distributed energy resource management systems (DERMS) have received significant attention in recent years, the economic and societal values of DERMS-enabled applications are still being discerned.
Bridget Powers Beggs, an engineer for National Grid’s Integrated Planning and Solutions team, will speak on both of these issues facing utilities at DTECH (formerly known as DISTRIBUTECH) March 24-27, 2025 in Dallas, Texas.
Powers Beggs will participate in two sessions:
- Making the case: Economic and societal values of DERMS with PG&E, Xcel, and National Grid, taking place March 26 from 9 AM – 9:50 AM.
- Dominion, National Grid, and SCE approaches to “right-sizing” distribution systems to enable deep decarbonization, taking place March 27 from 11 AM – 11:50 AM
“These are both important topics for utilities, as meeting the challenges of both electrification and decarbonization will require unprecedented investment in both traditional infrastructure and flexibility solutions,” Powers Beggs said. “Decision frameworks and benefit-cost models for how to evaluate these investments on a level playing field is therefore critical to ensure affordability for our customers in both the near and long-term.”
Making the case: Economic and societal values of DERMS with PG&E, Xcel, and National Grid
This session will present methodologies for assessing the value streams enabled by DERMS to support utility investment decisions and cost-recovery filings. DERMS applications considered include supporting flexible interconnection agreements, non-wires alternatives, and DER grid services. Utility representatives from Xcel, PG&E, and National Grid will discuss real-world case studies that illustrate these concepts in practice.
Session participants will gain a comprehensive understanding of how to evaluate the benefits of DERMS and apply these insights to optimize grid management and investment strategies.
Dominion, National Grid, and SCE approaches to “right-sizing” distribution systems to enable deep decarbonization
A robust electric distribution system that is “right-sized” with modern capabilities is needed to achieve increasing customer expectations in a safe, reliable, and affordable manner. As the distribution system rapidly evolves, novel planning, design, and operating processes are also needed to proactively identify and justify the needs and designs of the future.
In this panel, Dominion Energy, National Grid, Southern California Edison (SCE), and EPRI will share their approaches to handling mass electrification and renewable growth, including the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of each solution. Dominion Energy will discuss the benefits and challenges associated with its 34.5 kV distribution system, and National Grid will speak on capacity solutions for legacy 4 kV systems.
In addition, SCE and EPRI will present key findings from the recent grid architecture project. In this project, EPRI conducted an in-depth review of unique grid architectures and designs globally to uncover the best practices and methods established by various regions. It highlighted, on a global scale, the innovative and forward-thinking methods being adopted for future grid developments as well as case studies for grid transformations at various levels of transmission and distribution.
Powers Beggs is currently an area engineer on National Grid’s New York Distribution Planning and Asset Management team. In their time at National Grid they have worked on the Integrated Planning and Solutions, Future of Electric, and Grid Modernization Solutions teams on a variety of projects, including leading regulatory filings, developing benefit cost analyses for grid modernization and Distribution System Operator (DSO) investments, and updating planning criteria, practices and processes for electrification.
Attending DTECH this year? Don’t miss these other great sessions!
- Itron’s Amanda Dixon on the future of municipal energy management
- Dominion Energy’s Aaron Winter on meeting cloud computing demands
- National Grid’s Jon Malaver on utility talent acquisition retention amid rapid industry changes
- Eversource Energy’s John Nachilly on leveraging eSIM tech for SCADA resiliency
- National Grid’s Bridget Powers Beggs on ‘right-sizing’ distribution systems and the economic, societal value of DERMS
- UConn Eversource Energy Center’s Dr. Diego Cerrai on AI for storm and damage prediction
- Evergy’s JJ Stutler on what utilities actually do with all of their private LTE data
- Alectra Utilities’ Vivek Somasundaram on building the control room of the future
- PPL’s Shelby Linton-Keddie on tackling rapid load growth
- Xcel Energy’s Marcus Johansson on building digital twins for the future grid
- Evergy’s Chad Carsten on communications networks for utility unity
- Duke Energy’s Jason Handley on utility policy impacts, grid edge investments, and more
- Liberty Utilities’ Sam McGarrah on improving utility asset management
- Southern California Edison’s Jerome Marr on long-term distribution planning and modern grid challenges
- AES’ Christian Lopez on the challenges of cultivating a skilled utility workforce
- National Grid’s Jesse Harvey on harnessing the next wave of smart meters: AMI 2.0
- Duke Energy’s John Pressley on how AI is reshaping utility work
This list will be updated as more sessions are previewed.
