Utility DERMS and DER Aggregators: An Ideal Case for Tomorrow’s DSO

Distribution Energy Resource Management Systems (DERMS) are emerging software technologies aimed to provide Distribution System Operators (DSOs) with a specialized set of tools enabling them to maximize the benefits of integration and management of high penetration of distribution energy resources (DERs). In an ideal case, DERMS should cover a wide set of tools, providing benefits to both DSO as well as end customers. However, as the DERMS technology is still emerging, its definition is vague and can refer to very different levels of software hierarchy, spanning from Virtual Power Plants, Demand Response providers and DER Aggregators, to centralized enterprise systems, called Utility DERMS. Even though they are all frequently simply called DERMS, these software technologies have different sets of tools and aim to provide different services, to different stakeholders. This paper explores how these different software technologies can perfectly complement each other, and when integrated together, provide tremendous benefits to both a DSO as well as end customers, enabling them to pave the way into the next generation of active and complex distribution systems, as urgently required by governing bodies around the globe.