On November 1, 2022, the North American Electric Reliability Corp (NERC) published a new report titled Distributed Energy Resource Strategy, which identifies approaches, concepts, and regulatory steps necessary to ensure the reliable operation of the bulk power system into the future.[1] Distributed energy resource (DER) levels are growing across North America, altering how the bulk power system is planned, designed, and operated. According to NERC, distributed solar capacity will grow by more than 30,000 MW between 2022 and 2031. While DERs have multiple benefits, they also create challenges to grid reliability, resilience, and flexibility.

The new report serves as a roadmap, identifying milestones ahead as NERC develops its approach to growing volumes of DER connected to the bulk power system (BPS). NERC’s strategy document creates a framework to help the Electric Reliability Organization (ERO) in the process of managing risk. It includes six specific steps: risk identification; risk prioritization; mitigation identification and evaluation; deployment; measurement of success; and monitoring. The core tenets of the strategy are DER modeling capabilities, studies incorporating DERs, operational impacts of DERs, and regulatory considerations related to DERs.

[1] https://www.nerc.com/news/Pages/NERC-Publishes-Distributed-Energy-Resource-Strategy-Document.aspx