Category Archives: Distribution Markets

Virtual Power Plants: Ready to Serve a Grid Near You

July 24, 2017 / Jill Feblowitz / Distributed Energy Resources, Distribution Markets, Virtual Power Plants, Wholesale Markets

It’s been almost a decade since German utility RWE piloted one of the first virtual power plants, made up of nine small hydro facilities networked to deliver power to the transmission grid. The world of virtual power plants (VPPs) has evolved considerably since then. Check out what the panel on VPPs had to say at GTM’s GridEdge […]

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Next-Gen Flexibility is The Mantra for Grid 3.0

July 7, 2017 / Jill Feblowitz / Demand Response, Distributed Energy Resources, Distribution Markets, DOE Programs, Energy Storage, Integrating Renewables, Microgrids, New Business Models, Regulation

For most veterans of the utility industry, discussions about the next generation distribution grid hearken back to the 1990s with the introduction of deregulation and wholesale markets. Today’s “future” represents an even greater departure. What’s new is the rapidly rising penetration of distributed energy resources (DER) and the presence of variable renewable generation. Then too, there […]

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Enabling the Future – NECEC Panel on MIT EI Utility of the Future

March 17, 2017 / Jill Feblowitz / Distributed Energy Resources, Distribution Markets, Regulation

For most veterans of the utility industry, the “utility of the future” hearkens back to the 1990s and the introduction of deregulation and wholesale markets.  Today’s “future” represents an even greater departure from previous discussions.  What’s new is the rapidly rising penetration of renewables and distributed energy resources, and the prospect of evolving technologies (storage, […]

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Uncharted Waters: New Revenue Streams for Utilities

June 6, 2016 / Jill Feblowitz / Conferences, Distributed Energy Resources, Distribution Markets, New Business Models

For the last three years, conversations in Europe, then in North America, has been about the need for new revenue streams for utilities.  Utilities are facing decline in consumption, yet need to make capital investments to maintain grid reliability and integrate renewables while satisfying customers who are demanding more options and shareholders who are expecting […]

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What’s Wholesale and What’s Retail: DR, DER and SCOTUS

February 2, 2016 / Jill Feblowitz / Demand Response, Distributed Energy Resources, Distribution Markets

Depending on where you sit – a demand response provider or independent power producer –  January 25, 2016 was either a good or a bad power day.  That was the day that the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) upheld FERC order 745, allowing FERC and thereby, wholesale markets to have jurisdiction over demand […]

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