The role of the network planning process in upgrading network functionality to meet the requirements of independent power producers

摘要

The relevance and the implications of Distributed Resources (DR) to the Network Services provided by network services providers is trying to undergo a revolution, which reflects the strong emphasis being placed on the uptake of DR within the energy policies of many countries. However, a bottleneck has formed through the inability of the energy networks to respond to the needs of DR at the volumes which would reflect the aspirations of the policy makers. This paper explores the idea that if the connection requirements of DR were integrated into the NSPs' planning processes then, more convenience and assurance could be achieved for DR proponents, thereby reducing the well-known non-price barriers to DR connection that has been a back-wind in realising the energy policies of many jurisdictions. The approach suggested in the paper, is to consider the accommodation by NSPs of the needs of DR, (whether it be wind resource, or PV, or a range of other resources such as intermittent storage), as a range of new Network Services that an NSP needs to provide at its points of interconnection with the grid. Then, through the normal Planning Process, and through the governance provided by the regulator, an NSP can work systematically, a) to define the levels of the new Network Services that it is able to provide at each POI; and b) to match the network capability to the expected demands for these Services that will manifest over the current planning cycle. Any shortfall can then be made good through the normal regulatory approval of CAPEX. Certainty is provided to prospective DR connectors through framing the new Network Services so as to be supportive and complying with their needs. However the expected impacts on the network of the forecast demand for DR connections, and therefore the new network services, are determined by the normal techniques of simulation utilised in a standard planning processes.