Camus Energy

Read the latest from Camus Energy's Astrid Atkinson in Cipher News: Staring down once-in-a-generation growth in energy demand, electric utilities in the United States are facing the prospect that their current systems could soon be overwhelmed.?

Never thought I would be this excited to post about a Vermont Public Utility Commission filing. Vermont Electric Cooperative recently filed an Innovative Pilot with the goal of exploring how we can manage EV charging to reduce the amount of overloaded distribution transformers. For you policy nerds out there - Case - 24A-3414 , Link -https://lnkd.in/dQ92zduB. In the documents you will also find a T&D Asset Deferral Valuation Excel. We’re focused on the following goals: - Provide a simple and invisible member experience to those participating - Work with our partners Camus Energy and FlexCharging to demonstrate that the technology is reliable and can be trusted by our operations staff - Fine tune our valuation framework that provides participating members a high enough inventive for members to want to participate and demonstrates savings to the VEC membership - Identify what gaps remain that limit us from expanding to more valuable assets such as primary lines, substation transformers and transmission assets (likely something we explore in the next pilot)

I've been meaning to share a few personal thoughts on the below EV Tipping Point paper. Three that can be easily overlooked in the topline numbers coming out of the analysis are: (1) Visibility and Coordination can have meaningful impact on planning assumptions. With those abilities, planners become more confident in their assumptions *and* in the operations team's ability to intervene to keep the grid reliable. This is a key part of why capital deferrals can be approved. (2) Once planners confidently require fewer network upgrades (i.e., defer investment), the system benefits through Capital Flexibility. Two quick examples? (a) Through local capacity management, distribution system deferrals and DER management can help smooth transmission capacity; (b) As those who can buy EVs add them, planners can spend unlocked flexible capital in resource constrained areas to accelerate total grid modernization. (3) The key motivation here is wanting to know when to invest in the next most needed action (an idealized statement, I know). This is a risk management and capital investment strategy. In other words, the goal is to keep the grid Reliable and Affordable throughout the transformation to a modern digital, distributed, and decarbonized system. In sum? Make the grid visible and coordinated to avoid hitting a capital or reliability wall. Become informed to empower a smarter grid through smart decisions. #gridmodernization #smartergrid #digitalgrid #GETtingitdone

Utilities can accelerate safe and reliable integration of distributed solar systems – keeping their community, regulators, and operators happy. How? By embracing a more data-driven approach to managing their impacts. Solutions like cluster studies, integrated distribution planning, publicly available maps, and flexible interconnections can help utilities embrace distributed solar as a tool for lowering supply costs, investing in local resource development, and achieving decarbonization goals. Read about how Camus actively supports utilities in navigating the operational impacts of distributed solar: https://lnkd.in/gz8aAdjz

In the wake of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, the U.S. Department of Energy has awarded a total of nearly $2 billion in new grants to help harden, expand, and modernize U.S. power grids. This includes enhancing grids with softward that can integrate rooftop solar and EV charging stations into virtual power plants. "Energy demand, as we know, is rising nationwide, and it is straining our outdated grid infrastructure," says Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm. These grants come at a critical moment. Read more on Canary Media Inc.: https://lnkd.in/evCNQYPX

Are you an NRECA member? Want to learn about our DERMS partnership with Camus Energy and our overall DER strategy? Want to learn about DERMS approaches at other coops? Join John Padalino Allison Hamilton and I on this NRECA webinar November 20, 2024 | 2-3 p.m. ET Register here https://lnkd.in/eyAxe6F6

At what electric vehicle (EV) adoption level do the benefits of EV visibility and managed charging outweigh the costs? The AES Corporation, in collaboration with Camus, released their joint EV Tipping Point Study. Key findings: ?? At 5% residential EV adoption, AES Indiana reaches a point where EV visibility and managed charging are essential to prevent grid strain and manage system costs. ?? System-wide peak management and local distribution capacity management through integrated distribution planning increased total benefits by 3.8x versus peak management alone. ?? The deferred upgrades on 43 feeders and nearly 5,900 service transformers for AES Indiana is equivalent to $1,275 / year for each new EV adopted by residential customers. Find out more about our study ?? https://lnkd.in/gPjr82J2

Most utilities have some protection against ransomware in place. That protection might be multi-factor authentication, network baselines, or another established strategy. But while these are helpful foundations, they're not enough to prevent ransomware attacks. Learn how to protect your team and grid: https://lnkd.in/gKQpSBvR

"We're getting into that landscape where control system operators are actually doing the real-time dispatching. With all of this comes what I like to refer to, and it might be a little naivete, but I like to think about it as beneficial AI. I know we all have The Terminator in the back of our minds and that kind of thing. But really, when you bring beneficial AI or machine learning that can model your systems, you’re going from the static modeling to the real time modeling, and then giving humans the information they need to make those decisions in control centers across our United States. All this goes on in the background, and our consumers are none the wiser, which is great because they have electricity when they need it. They can charge their EVs when they need it. They can have their HVAC systems run flawlessly, and they don't have any voltage issues at different times during the year. So you asked about the vision. The vision is to bring all these disparate systems together. Camus has their vision of being that hub, and we use Camus Energy to bring in all these pieces of data. We've just finished integrating Edge Zero into Camus, working with both companies. And it is really leading edge right now for a company our size in Northern Vermont, to have these powerful systems to do exactly what we want to do on the grid.” Wise words from Peter Rossi of Vermont Electric Cooperative on last week's Heatmap News webinar: Powering Reliability: Perspectives on Real-Time Monitoring for the Evolving Grid. We're a little biased -- but we think it's well worth the watch! If the clip got you excited, check out the full recording ?? https://lnkd.in/exQ6PNtu

Camus' platform uses machine learning to fill data gaps and improve imperfect data. Want to find out how? We nerded out by diving into the wonky details of machine learning, and how it can help utilities improve situational awareness and grid operations while reducing energy costs. Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/gfSauMMT