AutoGrid Platform Saves Headaches for One NRTC Member
Randy Sukow
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An NRTC electric member one day recently was looking at a possible coincident peak day. The staff dispatched the smart thermostats in their region in anticipation of the upcoming event. In return, they got an error message; indications were that the dispatch failed. Fortunately, the co-op was working with NRTC partner AutoGrid and its distributed energy resource management systems (DERMS) platform.
“I got a message on a Monday evening. They were pretty upset,” said Nathan Holland, NRTC’s director, Grid Intelligence. “The next morning, I got a follow-up saying, ‘Ignore my last message. It looks like AutoGrid noticed the error and resolved it and those devices dispatched on time.’”
AutoGrid’s remote monitoring technology detected a configuration error and immediately corrected it. By about 9 a.m., Tuesday, the co-op’s worries were resolved.
“I know in this business line every solution has issues and I think what separates good companies is their ability to address and resolve those issues quickly,” Holland said.
NRTC members who would like to learn more about automation and monitoring systems that improve reliability on their grids should plan to attend “Distributed Energy: Solving the Needs of Today While Planning for the Demands of Tomorrow,” the final installment in NRTC’s summer Next-Generation Energy webinar series.
The session will offer case studies illustrating how DERMS affects electric co-ops installing next-generation systems including smart thermostats, electric vehicle chargers, irrigation pumps and battery storage. A panel of AutoGrid experts also will discuss strategies for getting started with DERMS.
NRTC members may register today for the webinar, which begins at 2 p.m. Eastern Time, Thursday, Aug. 27.
