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The New Jersey BPU has filed of a notice  initiating a Grid Flexibility Services proceeding within the BPU’s new Grid Modernization Forum (GMF).  This forum is comprised of workgroups that have been tasked with addressing the barriers to increasing hosting capacity, distributed energy resource (DER) participation, and grid flexibility.

“The recent publication of proposed interconnection rule updates for N.J.A.C. 14:8-5 has laid the foundation for an innovative transformation in how grid evolution can not only accommodate large increase in clean energy DER interconnection but also utilize these assets in a proactive way to put downward pressure on electric rates. To fully leverage these changes and maintain the needed growth in hosting capacity for DER interconnection and participation, NJ BPU recognizes a critical need for key third party and community stakeholder collaboration with the electric utilities prior to advancing further rules.”

PURPOSE

“Concurrent to the interconnection rules update proceeding (Docket # QO2100085), the BPU has initiated a new Grid Modernization Forum (GMF) comprised of expert workgroups with diverse knowledge bases to tackle the tougher barriers to increasing hosting capacity, DER participation, and grid flexibility. These workgroups are designed to yield informed recommendations to subsequent policy and rules changes enacted by the BPU. Recently concluding its first workgroup – the Integrated Distribution / Distributed Energy Resources (IDDER) – the result will soon be vetted through the public stakeholder process prior to becoming a minimum filing requirement (MFR) for a comprehensive utility Proactive System Upgrade Plan (PSUP) Follow on Docket #  QO24030199).

A Grid Services workgroup is to create a service architecture that standardizes the integration, interoperability, aggregation, and orchestration of interconnected and aggregated DER, such that a broad range of flexibility services can be called upon from these assets.”

The workgroup will focus on:

a) Characterizing needed grid service elements

b) Identifying interoperability barriers for heterogeneous DER service delivery

c) Determining appropriate service value and compensation amounts and methods and

d) Initiating data collection pilots that will support the development of a commercial scale VPP program built upon this service architecture

The resulting workgroup findings and recommendations are to be used to inform future tariff language governing these grid flexibility services and subsequent VPP Programs.