Microgrid Control Strategy Derived from Stakeholder Requirements Analysis By Alex Rojas and Tamer Rousan T THE ENERGY MARKET IS RECognizing that both distributed generators and controlled loads are valuable assets when properly integrated into a utility's power and communications networks. However, the proliferation of these distributed energy resources (DERs) creates challenges for utilities when interconnected to their networks. Traditional operational models, including sensing and computational tools, will not be enough to meet future needs. Specifically, the monitoring and control layer (some call it the IT layer) will need to be transformed to adequately integrate DERs. We offer an approach for a utility to meet future customer expectations through DER monitoring, commanding, and dispatch optimizing. The needs from other stakeholders (i.e., the public utility commission, the financing organization, and the independent system operator) are captured through a systems engineering process that yields IMAGE LICENSED BY INGRAM PUBLISHING Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MPE.2017.2690520 Date of publication: 16 June 2017 72 ieee power & energy magazine 1540-7977/17©2017IEEE july/august 2017