As customers embrace distributed energy resource (DER) products and service offerings, ARENA is looking at ways to address the technical, regulatory and commercial challenges involved with integrating them into the electricity system.
About the Study
Study complete
As part of this work, ARENA is supporting the Distributed Energy Integration Program (DEIP) Dynamic Operating Envelopes (DOEs) workstream to explore the value that DOEs could offer to the energy transition.
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What are DOEs?
What are distributed energy resources and why do they matter?
Objective
An emerging model for DOE implementation is for the envelopes to be located at the customer connection point. This would require behind-the-meter (BTM) devices, such as rooftop solar, electric vehicles, heat pumps and other smart devices, to be coordinated together through a Customer Energy Management Systems (CEMS).
ARENA has engaged energy to understand the challenges and opportunities associated with implementing DOEs at the residential customer connection point.
Outcome
This Study seeks to address the following questions:
- What is the current state of orchestration of multiple BTM devices at one connection point, including functionality, interoperability and communications, and orchestration functions?
- Can BTM resources be coordinated to comply with DOEs issued at the connection point level?
- What benefits could BTM coordination provide to customers, energy providers and networks?
- What is the overall readiness of the market to orchestrate devices BTM to meet operating envelopes issued at the connection point? What could be done to improve this?
- What practical barriers and gaps (if any) exist in current frameworks and capabilities (including standards, regulation and market dynamics)?
- How do current electricity regulation and other consumer protection laws apply to BTM vendors and how do these need to evolve to ensure a seamless user experience and maintain competition?
- What are the practical steps that industry could take to get ready for DOEs?
Project timeline
The Customer Energy Management Systems Study comprises four key phases:
- Phase 1 – Current State: Understand the current state of the CEMS market and DOE requirements in the NEM. [IN PROGRESS]
- Phase 2 – CEMS benefits and readiness: Clarify the benefits of CEMS for BTM orchestration in regards to DOEs for customers, and assess CEMS technical and commercial readiness.
- Phase 3 – Gap and barriers analysis: Identify the gaps and barriers of CEMS implementation from a capability, framework and regulation standpoint in the NEM.
- Phase 4 – Recommendations: Synthesise findings from previous phases into practical recommendations that will enable ARENA and the DEIP to progress DOEs readiness.
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