Seven States Power Corp. (7SPC) has moved closer to formalizing a partnership with OATI and Chattanooga, TN, EPB.
Meeting March 13 in Chattanooga, TN, the 7SPC Board of Directors approved a staff recommendation to move forward with Minnesota-based OATI and the Chattanooga utility in developing a distributed energy resources management system (DERMS).
“DERMS is software that will allow TVPPA-member utilities to develop their own load-management programs and/or enter into aggregated load-management programs with other TVPPA members,” said Clint Wilson, TVPPA’s vice president for Technical Services. “In an aggregated situation, load management would then be delivered back to TVA.”
The 7SPC board approval closed the loop on a process that began with a June 2017 Request for Proposal. Wilson said OATI got the nod because, aside from having submitted the lowest-cost proposal, it was “best-suited to meet our short-term and long-term needs.” He said Chattanooga EPB would see to support services, including program creation, customer enrollment and training for participating utilities.
The next step, Wilson said, is contract negotiation; all three parties are set to meet in late March to begin that process.
On a related front, Wilson added that OATI’s proposal also allowed for an easy transition of the current Aggregated Demand Response (ADR) program into DERMS. ADR got off to a rocky start back in 2013, but its improved performance of late moved TVA to agree in October 2017 to extend the program through September 2020.
“We worked out the bugs in the software and figured out which customers were the best fits for the program,” Wilson said. “Last year, as a proof-of-concept, ADR performed in excess of 100 percent.
“ADR is no longer a pilot or proof-of-concept,” Wilson said. “It’s a full-fledged Seven States commercial program that’s being offered to TVPPA members.”