Interoperability of Demand Response Resources Demonstration in NY
Jan. 31, 2015
Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc.
The Interoperability of Demand Response Resources Demonstration in NY (Interoperability Project) was awarded to Con Edison in 2009. The objective of the project was to develop and demonstrate methodologies to enhance the ability of customer sited Demand Response resources, both conventional and renewable, to integrate more effectively with electric delivery companies. In order to achieve the project objective, interoperability between the delivery company and the demand response resources had to be achieved. The electric delivery company does not actively control these demand response resources, thus through this project the interoperability was demonstrated, by integrating the operations of a demand response service provider (DRSP), a large multi-facility retail customer (RC), and a delivery company (DC).
The electric delivery company in this project, Con Edison, is dedicated to lowering costs, improving reliability and customer service, and reducing its impact on the environment for its customers. These objectives also align with the policy objectives of New York State as a whole. To help meet these objectives, Con Edison's long-term vision for the distribution grid relies on the successful integration and control of a growing penetration of distributed resources, including demand response (DR) resources, and distributed generation (DG). The Interoperability Project provides an example of how these demand response resources can be integrated into the operations of the utility and the value of these resources and their integration to customers.
The project focused on four main components; the Demand Response Command Center (DRCC), the incremental Building Control Unit (IBCU), the Thermal Storage Plant (TSP) and the Virtual Generator (VirG). An analysis of the customer benefits of the VirG and the TSP are displayed later in the report along with the architecture and a set of protocols had to be developed associated with the DRCC and the IBCU to enable secure integration with the customer sited resources. All of these components were designed and configured to provide value to both the electric delivery company and the customer. The project ultimately showed that customer sited demand response resources can successfully be integrated into electric delivery company operation.
