POWER August 2015 - 51

SMART GRID AWARD
3. Showcase. The Technology Demonstration and Education Center at the heart of the Oncor
microgrid is open to the public to showcase its advances in technology and the possibilities
for microgrid deployment. None of the equipment on display is a mock-up-the actual system
can be viewed in real-time operation. Courtesy: Oncor
to ensure reliable power, will soon be deploying
similar systems.
Storage Challenges
Another reason Oncor wants to raise
awareness of the possibilities of these systems
is that, under current Texas law, utilities
are handicapped by restrictions in the
ERCOT market on who can own generation
and sell electricity. It's not that Oncor
and other utilities want to own generation;
it's that new technologies like battery storage
straddle the line between generation
and load, and they can serve disparate grid
functions in ways that are more efficient
than existing solutions, yet those ways are
not anticipated by current regulations. Addressing
that problem will require regulatory
reform.
Last fall, Oncor released a study conical
energy usage data, and real-time building
information to continually seek out the
lowest-cost power.
DSO is capable of looking at forward
prices 15 minutes, an hour, or a day ahead
and automatically determining when it's
best to purchase power, sell it, or store it
(the SOSF, as an Oncor facility, can't actually
sell its power, but the system is capable
of that, were it permitted to do so). This
function is a significant benefit in a region
like the Electricity Reliability Council of
Texas (ERCOT), where peak power prices
are allowed to rise as high as $9,000/kWh
during critical grid periods.
A video with more information on the
SOSF microgrid is available on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/Hxr7ELpBcMs.
Leading the Way
As noted at the outset of this article, Oncor's
ambitions go beyond just reliable power for
the SOSF. It wants to use this system to test
and demonstrate how microgrids can contribute
to overall grid stability and, further,
how they need not be a threat to a utility's
bottom line.
At the center of the SOSF is an exhibit
open for tours by customers and policymakers
showing how the microgrid operates.
Known as the Technology Demonstration
and Education Center (TDEC), it consists of
two parts: an immersion room and a demonstration
center (Figure 3). In the immersion
room, the microgrid is brought to life on seven
screens through a video that highlights the
history of the electric grid and the changes
August 2015 | POWER
Oncor has made over time.
The demonstration center, which also
serves as the microgrid control center, displays
the new technology that keeps the system
operating. It features a fully functioning
SCADA representation of the microgrid to
show how it reacts to a loss-of-power event
or other fault. The demonstration center is
not a mock-up-the actual switching devices,
controls, communications, and software
are on display.
" Oncor has a rich history of working collaboratively
with its vendor partners, and this
is a great opportunity to showcase those relationships
in a state-of-the-art microgrid facility, "
Quinn said.
Microgrids, of course, present unique interconnection
issues. Though they can firm
the grid over the long term, in the short term,
they force changes in utility operating procedures,
especially during outages-reconnecting
an islanded microgrid presents different
safety and operational issues than reenergizing
a customer without power.
" Improving power reliability and optimizing
generation assets requires disruptive
technologies that allow customers to
work on and off the grid, " Chiesa said.
" Oncor's microgrid is showing the world
how utilities can help their communities in
the future. "
Oncor intends to use the SOSF to learn the
best ways of adapting to these changes, because
it anticipates that similar critical pieces
of infrastructure such as hospitals and 911
call centers, and large customers such as universities
and manufacturing centers that want
www.powermag.com
ducted by the Brattle Group finding that
the Texas grid could support up to 5 GW
of distributed storage, assuming battery
prices continue their downward trajectory
(as they have since the study was released).
Using that data, Oncor sought legislative
changes that would be necessary for regulatory
approval. Making it work economically
would require these changes in the
law so that the revenue stream from the
generation side could be captured somehow.
Oncor proposed a method by which
utilities owning batteries could auction off
a portion of the storage capacity to merchant
generators, who would then be the
ones to use that capacity to buy and sell
electricity on the wholesale market. Oncor,
meanwhile, would use the remaining
capacity for reliability, quality of service,
and deferral of traditional T&D assets.
Unfortunately for fans of energy storage,
the proposal drew opposition from
generators and other transmission operators
concerned about changes in the market,
and the 2015 Texas legislative session
ended in June without any action being
taken on the proposal. That means it will
likely be a few more years-the Texas
Legislature meets again in 2017-before
any changes will be seen. In the meantime,
Oncor intends to continue the policy
discussions in hopes of reaching a consensus.
No one expects the generation-transmission
divide to be removed, but experts
agree the regulatory environment has to
be more battery-friendly for microgrids to
reach their full potential.
Where the market will go remains to be
seen, but many of those changes are likely to
flow from Oncor's leadership with the SOSF
microgrid. ■
-Thomas W. Overton JD is a POWER
associate editor.
51

https://www.youtu.be/Hxr7ELpBcMs http://www.powermag.com

POWER August 2015

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