As a 2015 law requires, Connecticut’s two electric
distribution companies have submitted draft proposals to the Department of
Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) for a pilot program to build, own,
or operate grid-side system enhancements and investigate how to integrate
distributed energy resources (DER) into the electric distribution system. (PA
15-5, June Special Session (§§ 102 &
103) (see the public act summary here.))
Eversource’s
draft proposal describes eight potential project concepts, including (1)
deploying utility-owned energy storage systems to support intermittent DER and
(2) developing online mapping and other tools aggregating information on
existing and future DER projects. UI’s
draft proposal describes five potential project concepts, some of which are
similar to Eversource’s proposal. Concepts include (1) forecasting solar
adoption to identify opportunities to defer distribution capacity investments
and (2) localized DER targeting (i.e., integrating DERs into grid planning and
operations).
DEEP accepted public comment on the draft proposals
through March 1, 2016. According to Eversource, as quoted in the
New Haven Register, if the company receives approval from DEEP and the
Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, projects could begin operating in late
2017.
