Planning the Networked Grid – An Advocate’s Perspective Merrian Borgeson Natural Resources Defense Council March 17, 2016

Why does distribution planning matter? Getting distribution planning right is required to meet our climate goals at the lowest possible cost We cannot afford the luxury of silos This is no longer the realm of engineers alone

Walk-Jog-Run Framework

Start walking now… Track the current hosting capacity for DERs over time, and use this info to streamline interconnection (Integrated Capacity Analysis = ICA) Identify the net benefits of DERs, including the methodology and tools to assess this in specific locations (Locational Net Benefits Analysis = LNBA) Develop a grid modernization framework to guide utility investments

Stakeholder engagement is key Distribution planning matters more and more to a much wider group of stakeholders Getting the non-grid engineers up to speed is vital and takes time + translation Need to consider how to support the participation of stakeholders in both the short term and the long term (this will not be “done” in 12 months)

Merrian Borgeson mborgeson@nrdc.org Contact: Merrian Borgeson mborgeson@nrdc.org