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Grid DERMS – From the Control Center to the Grid Edge: Aggregator Interface Design, Use Cases, and Roadmap
As distributed energy resources (DERs) scale rapidly, utilities must evolve beyond traditional control paradigms to unlock their full grid value. PG&E is advancing a DERMS-centric architecture that extends visibility and control from the control center to the grid edge, enabling flexible localized capacity through aggregator-integrated Virtual Power Plants (VPPs).
This approach positions DERMS as the central orchestration layer with awareness of ADMS conditions and the ability to forecast distribution grid overload risk. By leveraging this intelligence, DERMS can trigger optimized DER dispatch, including managed charging and localized VPP activation, to mitigate constraints and provide incremental capacity in near real time.
PG&E is addressing three critical challenges.
First, driving targeted DER enrollment and saturation in high-value locations requires new tools. PG&E is developing geospatial shapefiles that enable aggregators to identify, recruit, and verify eligible customers within constrained feeders. This allows precise deployment where grid needs are most acute.
Second, PG&E is defining a OneVPP vision that delivers a unified customer experience, enabling access to multiple programs through a single interface while unlocking stacked value streams across use cases.
Third, PG&E is building an integrated operating model that streamlines enrollment, eligibility validation, forecasting, and dispatch. DERMS serves as the backbone coordinating these functions to support scalable and repeatable grid operations.
This work demonstrates how DERMS and aggregators can deliver flexible capacity and accelerate grid readiness from the control center to the grid edge. This session provides practical insights into aggregator interface design, system integration, and regulatory alignment needed to scale DER flexibility and transform the grid into a more adaptive and software-defined platform for future growth and electrification. Benefits include improved reliability economic efficiency and enhanced customer participation.
