Maine rivaling California in progressive thinking about the future of the grid
Source: Jennifer Runyon| · POWER GRID INTERNATIONAL · | July 07, 2023
New legislation directs the state to begin a DSO study to enable a true market for distributed energy resources.
Most energy insiders recognize that the transition to clean energy will require a large percentage of distributed energy resources (DER), particularly distributed solar PV, batteries, electric vehicles, grid-interactive buildings, and more. These DER will need to be dispatched as part of a system that asks them to both push energy to the grid and absorb it in order to keep the grid stable as it seeks to balance generation from large inverter-based resources, i.e. wind and solar power.
Today in the U.S. there are grid operators and an energy market at the transmission level, but the distribution utilities have always focused on the (extremely complex) task of delivering energy that is reliable, safe, and affordable. In the future, that might need to change and the state of Maine is taking initial steps toward what that DER-heavy future might look like.
In late June, Maine Governor Janet Mills signed legislation — LD 952: An Act to Create a 21st-Century Electric Grid — that could modernize Maine’s electric grid.
The bill directs the Governor’s Energy Office (GEO) to hire a third-party consultant to conduct a two-part study for the design of a distribution system operator (DSO) in Maine. A DSO would function in Maine much like the existing independent system operator of the New England region, ISO New England, whose role is electric grid operation, market administration and power system planning.
Part one of the study evaluates whether it is possible to design a DSO in Maine to achieve a reduction in electricity costs for customers, improve electric system reliability and performance in the state and meet Maine’s climate goals and growth of distributed energy resources at an accelerated rate. If possible, and the GEO agrees, the consultant would then proceed to design the DSO.