Distributed Energy Resources Integration

The proliferation of distributed energy resources represents one of the most fundamental transformations in the history of electric utilities. What began as scattered rooftop solar installations has evolved into millions of customer-owned generation, storage, and controllable load devices that are reshaping grid operations, planning, and economics. For utility executives, DER integration presents a paradox: these resources are essential for decarbonization and can provide significant grid benefits, yet they simultaneously challenge the centralized utility model and create unprecedented operational complexity.