Power Utilities

Reliability. Sustainability. Affordability.

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Electricity demand is surging, leading to rising infrastructure costs.

DERs encompass various energy-generating or flexible load sources connected to the low-voltage distribution system (flexibility), either behind or in front of customer meters. These resources include thermostats, grid-interactive water heaters, heat pumps, rooftop solar panels, batteries, electric vehicle charging stations, and more.

Over the next decade, experts estimate that these local resources could provide enough flexibility to cover 25% of peak electricity demand in the United States, potentially saving U.S. utilities up to $300 billion. To harness this flexibility, effective simulation and orchestration tools are required to connect utilities, aggregators, and resource owners.

Outcome 1: Protect energy delivery during periods of congestion or in constrained areas.

Outcome 2: Understand the impact of demand side response and flexibility programs.

Outcome 3: Identify innovative ways to offset infrastructure investment.

How the SEM Suite can help

Nokia's SEM Suite provides advanced simulation, allowing utilities to effectively plan grid investments and non-wire solutions to manage and optimize DERs. This suite enables stakeholders to unlock the potential of DERs, creating a more resilient, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly energy ecosystem.

Investor-Owned Utilities can:

  • Enable the participation of distributed energy resources in wholesale markets with real-time data from third-party devices.
  • Implement local markets and programs to encourage resource owners to participate through active demand response and flexible grid support.
  • Monitor and evaluate the distribution-level impacts of DER dispatch.

Co-ops and Municipalities can:

  • Gain insight into member adoption and usage of local energy resources (DERs).
  • Use DERs to defer costly distribution upgrades in the long term.
  • Employ SEM Suite’s real-time monitoring and device control to confidently invest in local renewable generation, lowering energy costs and enhancing community resilience.
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