Distributed Energy Resources Takes Center Stage: A Renewed Spotlight on the Distribution Planning Process

The power system is currently undergoing a major transition, with increasing levels of renewable resources being connected to the grid and displacing conventional generation. Many of these resources are connecting not to the transmission system, as had been the convention in the past, but directly to the distribution system in the form of distributed energy resources (DERs). With the introduction of DERs, the entire distribution planning process, functions, and objectives have been put in the spotlight. The industry has put a renewed focus on the methods and tools used to plan the system and how it should evolve in the future to incorporate higher levels of DERs.