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Distribution Planning Challenges on the Integration of DERs in Low-Voltage Secondary Network Systems
As electrification, distributed energy resources (DERs), energy storage, and microgrids continue to grow, utilities are facing new challenges in modernizing underground (UG) network systems originally designed for one-way power flow. Today, increasing electrification, DERs, energy storage, and microgrids are introducing new operational challenges that legacy UG network systems were not designed to accommodate. This panel will explore practical approaches for integrating these technologies while maintaining the reliability, safety, and resilience that UG networks have delivered for more than a century.
The discussion will highlight the ongoing collaboration among the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Sandia National Laboratories, Eversource, and Danovo Energy to evaluate next-generation protection, control, and operational strategies through Real-Time Digital Simulator (RTDS) modeling and advanced distribution system analysis. The session will also showcase a field demonstration in Boston, Massachusetts, designed to validate and assess the performance of these advanced technologies in a real-world distribution system environment.
The panel will also feature lessons learned from Ameren’s recently commissioned utility-scale microgrid integrated within a 12.47 kV UG network. This operational case study provides valuable insights into protection coordination, network protector performance, and operational readiness within an UG network environment.
Discussion topics will include DER and microgrid integration challenges, modernization of network protection and control systems, advanced monitoring and operational visibility tools, energy storage and smart inverter applications, and key findings from both the Ameren Missouri deployment and the DOE-sponsored research and pilot demonstration initiative.
By combining real-world utility experience with advanced simulation and research, this session will provide practical guidance for modernizing underground network systems while supporting resilience, electrification, and continued DER growth.
