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 sessions:

“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.”

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.

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 DISTRIBUTECH? Don’t miss these other great sessions!

This list will be updated as more sessions are previewed.