Distribution System Pricing with Distributed Energy Resources

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory hosted a webinar on May 31, 2016, titled "Distribution System Pricing with Distributed Energy Resources." To view a recording of the webinar, click here.

This report examines pricing issues related to the business relationship between electric distribution utilities and the owners of DERs. At a minimum, utilities will likely continue to supply most owners of DERs with backup and supplemental service and with various other grid services. Utilities will receive power from certain types of DERs and may be able to secure important grid reliability services from DERs as well.

The authors of this report have attempted to portray these issues from a perspective in the future, when these resources are assumed to be widespread, when there are “fleets” of thousands and millions of units that are already integrated into the distribution system. The report uses specific resources as examples, intended to illustrate the issues that utilities, regulators and consumers will face, not to exclude potential other resources that may have different impacts.

The National Electricity Delivery Division of the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability provides funding for the Future Electric Utility Regulation series. Lisa Schwartz, in Berkeley Lab's Electricity Markets and Policy Group, is the project manager and technical editor.