The modern electric grid faces a multitude of challenges such as an increase in the frequency and magnitude of extreme weather events, an increase in the amounts and types of both sensitive and problematic loads, increased penetration of distributed energy resources and nonlinear loads along with more demanding customer expectations. As such, the utility industry has looked to augment its traditional approaches to address these challenges with reliability and power quality improvements, measuring success with their associated metrics.

To more fully address the shifting needs, new concepts such as resilience have been introduced. However, the utility industry has lacked a standard methodology to quantify and monetize resilience benefits, making it difficult to build business cases for these crucial investments.

To address this critical gap, Duke Energy partnered with Open Energy Solutions to develop a new, systematic framework for evaluating DER projects. This white paper details the data-driven methodology. The approach moves beyond traditional reliability and quality metrics by employing a dual-index assessment to prioritize investments. This framework provides a holistic evaluation by balancing:

• A Disruption Risk Index: Quantifies the technical vulnerability of assets by integrating reliability data, infrastructure characteristics, and external hazard risks.
• A Community Risk Index: Assesses the societal consequences of an outage by integrating social vulnerability data, environmental justice factors, and critical facility locations.

This is not a theoretical model. The framework has been successfully applied to Duke Energy’s North Carolina distribution system, screening 3,000 feeders to identify and prioritize high-impact projects.
This white paper provides a replicable methodology for utilities to implement, offering a transparent approach to justify resilience investments and confidently engage regulators.

The development of this framework highlights Open Energy Solutions' expertise in creating the advanced analytical tools required to solve complex grid challenges. We invite you to explore our findings and learn how Open Energy Solutions can help you build data-driven strategies for a more resilient and equitable energy future.

Read the full white paper at this link:
Resilience Focused Portfolio Analysis and Valuation of DER Projects.pdf