How utilities can evaluate the cost-effectiveness of DERs

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By Kate Strickland, Julie Michals, David Pudleiner, and Steve Fine

Since its publication in 2020, the National Standard Practice Manual (NSPM) For Benefit-Cost Analysis of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) has gained traction. Nine states are now applying the NSPM and 28 are referring to the document in either utility plans, commission dockets, or similar resources. As more jurisdictions see an increasing uptake of DERs, leveraging these resources and properly analyzing their benefit is becoming a central part of utility planning.

We worked with E4TheFuture and SEPA to create a companion resource—the Benefit-Cost Analysis Case Studies, which showcases the utilization of the manual in three case studies:

  • Residential managed EV charging in the Midwest
  • Commercial solar and storage-controlled dispatch in the West
  • Residential grid-interactive efficient buildings in the Mid-Atlantic

Watch this on-demand webinar to learn key takeaways for proper application of the NSPM including:

  • Valuing greenhouse gas emissions from the utility and societal perspectives
  • Accounting for interactive impacts when modeling multiple measures
  • Balancing accuracy and time investment when quantifying value stream impacts
Meet the authors
  1. Kate Strickland, Manager, Utility and Regulatory Strategy, SEPA
  2. Julie Michals, Director of Valuation, E4TheFuture
  3. David Pudleiner, Energy Engineer, Building Energy Analytics

    David is an energy modeler with nearly 10 years of academic and consulting experience in improving building efficiency across industries. View bio

  4. Steve Fine, Vice President, Distributed Grid Strategy + ICF Climate Center Senior Fellow

    Steve brings over 30 years of experience working at the confluence of energy, environment, and economics to evaluate and design workable solutions to our biggest energy challenges. View bio