By Jesse Berst

At a recent conference, COO Mike Niggli said that SDG&E had 20 power generators a decade ago. Today it has 2,000 and many of them are outside the utility's direct control.

Yes, SDG&E is a pioneer and probably has more PV and more EVs and more microgrids in its territory than anybody else. But a similar future is headed towards all utilities. The forms of the DER may be different -- storage, wind, demand response, microturbines, fuel cells -- but the challenges will be the same.

So it was terrific to see that EPRI has released a report that outlines the issues, points to existing solutions and spotlights the gaps where we need to do more work together. Highly recommended.

The report -- Integrating Smart Distributed Energy Resources with Distribution Management – include these key takeaways:

·         There is a need to add methods for distribution to deal with distributed solar generation.

·         Smart inverter functions will need to be mapped with enterprise level systems.

·         A distributed energy resources management system can enable standard and uniform communication from DMS to distributed energy resources.

·         Open standards are emerging for standard grid-supportive functions for distributed energy resources such as PV and battery storage.

·         The grid supportive capabilities of DER must complement, not replace, existing distribution controls, such as capacitors, regulators, and switches.

·         Enterprise integration standards are needed to support DMS and DER harmonization.

·         EPRI, DOE and NIST have launched an initiative to accelerate developments to meet these needs.

You can download the full report from the EPRI site.

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Jesse Berst is the founder and chief analyst of Smart Grid News.com, the industry's oldest and largest smart grid site. A frequent keynoter at industry events in the U.S. and abroad, he also serves on advisory committees for Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the Institute for Electric Efficiency. He often provides strategic consulting to large corporations and venture-backed startups. He is a member of the advisory boards of GridGlo and Calico Energy Services.