Top Takeaways from DistribuTECH 2024

I have worked on products and solutions for distribution operators for many, many years. I’ve always found it fascinating...

That’s one of the reasons why I always look forward to attending DistribuTECH, which this year was held in sunny Orlando, Florida. Every year a fascinating mix of grid operators, energy consultants, solution providers, government officials, and others gather to discuss the latest trends driving innovation in distribution operations.

And this year certainly didn’t disappoint! Here are my top 4 takeaways from DTECH 2024:

At DTECH this year, GridOS Chief Innovation Officer Thorsten Heller and Vice President of Digital Product Management Jean-Marc Moulin gave a terrific presentation exploring the importance of a grid data fabric for utilities who want to best leverage their data. A grid data fabric – like the GridOS Data Fabric we announced at the show – makes it easier and faster to access, govern, and utilize energy data by building “bridges” to wherever it is stored. A grid data fabric can also help utilities harness what’s called “dark data,” or data that you have available, but are not currently using. This could be for a variety of reasons – perhaps the data is too difficult to access, or no one is quite sure what to do with it, or you simply don’t know it’s there. It can be immensely valuable, once identified and leveraged.

Jean-Marc gave some examples of specific dark data that he’s seen at many utilities, including wildfire data for disaster planning, flooding patterns around key infrastructure, and network model data for switching operations. You could instantly sense the heightened interest from the audience when he revealed those dark data sets. I recommend checking with your IT and OT teams and asking them what data you are not currently using, but perhaps should be. Someone may have an innovative way to increase value!

In Thorsten and Jean-Marc’s presentation on GridOS Data Fabric, they also discussed the concept of data virtualization as being the ideal approach to accessing disparate, scattered data. Yet in sessions held by other utility solution providers, the concept of data centralization was endorsed. Here is the difference between the two:

In order to access and utilize energy data, something must be done to address the fact that the data is scattered all over the typical utility organization. There are two approaches to this challenge.

• Centralization involves storing all your energy data in a single, central repository.
• Virtualization involves keeping all the energy data where it is, but using a grid data fabric to “build bridges” to it, wherever it resides Of the two, GE Vernova fully believes that virtualization is the best approach. Many utilities have tried to implement centralization projects without success. The reason why centralization doesn’t work is simple - when you centralize data, you are removing it from the care and control of the entities that both generate it and understand it best. Thus, centralization has negative effects on data quality and accuracy, both of which are absolutely mandatory for proper data utilization.

For information on this topic,  see here for our  whitepaper on GridOS Data Fabric.

I would say that DERs and DERMS were the most common topic of sessions and general discussions at DTECH this year. And that doesn’t surprise me at all – research firm  has projected that by next year, cumulative DER capacity in the United States alone will have reached 387 gigawatts. With so many grids ramping up DER integration, it is clear that DERs will play a significant role in the sustainable energy future.

One of my favorite sessions was hosted by our Senior Product Manager for DERMS, Jesse Gantz, plus two guest speakers from GridOS DERMS customer Florida Power & Light (FPL). Together, they talked about the most common challenges utilities are encountering with DERs – as well as how to turn those challenges into opportunities. The audience listened intently as the presenters explained what utilities can do to take advantage of the DER challenges they experience every day. Some key examples included:

• Excess renewable generation? Use it to activate new programs like EV charging when the load is low!
• Keep having to draw on fossil fuels to meet peak loads? Tap into the electrical supply of school buses and other mass transit!
• Frequent storms causing power outages? Draw on community-based batteries or microgrid programs to increase resilience!

There were also many other presentations held by entities who are turning to DERs as a solution to their toughest challenges. One of my favorites was by an energy advisor for the U.S. Army. The Army is required to electrify all their non-tactical vehicles (think buses, cargo vans, etc.) by 2035, and their tactical vehicles by 2050. The presenter revealed that in order to accommodate such increased demand for electricity, the Army will be relying heavily on DERs, especially in the form of microgrids. And in another presentation, presenters discussed how the state of Hawaii is planning to increase energy availability and affordability by ramping up DER integration. Clearly the sustainable energy future will be a DER-driven one!

Cybersecurity was another major topic of discussion at DTECH this year, and for good reason. Utilities must comply with a slew of mandates, regulations, and standards designed to ensure optimal protection for grids. But this is easier said than done – did you know that 70% of all NERC violations are related to cybersecurity? Here are the top three most-violated standards:

• CIP-007 – Essentially sets cybersecurity standards for utilities, including establishing and defining various processes, methodologies, and procedures for digital assets.
• CIP-010 – Lays out procedures for authorizing any changes to a utility’s cyber protections, including vulnerability assessments.
• CIP-004 – Decrees that anyone who needs frequent access to a utility’s critical assets must undergo special risk assessments, training, and security awareness to minimize risk of corruption or error.

Challenges like these are precisely why we funnel so much research and development investments into our cybersecurity protections at GE Vernova. It all starts with our Zero Trust grid security model, which is built directly into our grid software solutions and GridOS platform.

The final topic of discussion that received a lot of attention this year was the use of AI/ML in control rooms. GE Vernova is actively deploying solutions with AI/ML and also working with our utility customers on Adaptive Grid Intelligence (AGI) for grid orchestration to help manage the complexity introduced by climate change and the energy transition.AGI will improve grid reliability and resiliency and enhance the adoption of renewable generation and DERs. This will enable grid control software to better predict and analyze climate change impacts and asset operations using AI/ML, thus reducing grid downtimes and curtailment of renewable generation. AGI will also enhance switching and safety with grid digital twins. Coupled with a new generation of grid enhancing technologies including digital dynamic line ratings  will provide further operational efficiencies. 

This year’s DTECH was another smashing success, and I’m already looking forward to next year and the innovations we will introduce! If you’d like to learn more about GridOS and how it can help your utility navigate the complexity that comes with a sustainable energy grid, check out our eBook here.