In June, the CPUC announced what might turn into an extremely important proceeding. The “High DER Future” docket explicitly envisions a world in which a high volume of DERs are interconnected on the grid. Since high DER penetration is extremely unlikely now, this “grid of the future” proceeding could well be an important venue in which the future of community energy will be fought out.
In this statewide call we posed the question: Will decisions made in this docket result in a DER future that benefits our communities or one that is hostile–serving to strengthen the state’s monopoly utilities?
The discussion was kicked off by Lorenzo Kristov, a veteran of the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) where he focused on how to adapt California’s energy system infrastructure and markets to accommodate the growth of DERs statewide. He currently focuses on the integration and impact of high levels of local solar generation and other distributed energy resources (DER) on the grid.
Lorenzo is a highly-respected energy consultant, and a strong advocate for community energy solutions. He shared his thoughts about why this High DER Proceeding is so significant , what is at stake for our communities in this debate, key issues that might get attention in that proceeding, and what is needed to address those issues.