What Role Do Aggregators Play in Power System Security and Resilience?

Reiko Matsuda-Dunn, Laura Leddy, Eliza Hotchkiss, Mukesh Gautam, Michael Abdelmalak

Research output: Contribution to conferencePaper

1 Scopus Citations

Abstract

Barriers to the participation of distributed energy resources (DERs) in wholesale electricity markets have limited the use of DERs for power system security and resilience. In September 2020, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved an order to reduce these barriers. FERC Order No. 2222 enables the participation of DER aggregators in wholesale electricity markets. DERs include renewable generation and technologies that support the integration of renewable generation by increasing grid flexibility and resilience. Requiring wholesale energy markets to allow DER aggregator participation provides a path for DERs to become competitive in these markets. As the contribution from aggregated DERs continues to increase, the aggregator's role in supporting grid security and resilience will become more critical. This paper reviews work that demonstrates how DER aggregators can provide resilience support through technical capabilities, operational strategies, and secure communication architectures. Socioeconomic influences and impacts of aggregators, including implications for social resilience, are presented. In surveying the current state-of-the-art across different but interconnected topics, we illustrate how aggregators can be power system participants that enhance grid security. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to enhancing resilience in a power grid that includes a growing cohort of DER aggregators, but there are many options for aggregators to contribute to a more resilient and secure power grid.
Original languageAmerican English
Number of pages15
DOIs
StatePublished - 2023
Event2023 Resilience Week (RWS) - National Harbor, Maryland
Duration: 27 Nov 202330 Nov 2023

Conference

Conference2023 Resilience Week (RWS)
CityNational Harbor, Maryland
Period27/11/2330/11/23

Bibliographical note

See NREL/CP-6A40-85649 for preprint

NREL Publication Number

  • NREL/CP-6A40-88313

Keywords

  • aggregator
  • cybersecurity
  • distributed energy resources
  • energy security
  • resilience

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