Grid resilience relates to the ability of electrical systems to anticipate, absorb, adapt to, and recover from all threats, including high-impact, low-probability (HILP) disruptions. Increasingly, utilities and regulators are seeking to include distributed energy resources (DERs) as part of the overall framework to enhance grid resilience. However, the evaluation and screening of potential projects based on the quantification of resilience benefits is a significant challenge.  While there is strong industry belief in the resilience benefits of DERs, there is no industry consensus on how to quantify and measure the value of these benefits.

As a part of its work in support of NCUC REPS, Duke Energy initiated a study to develop and apply a framework for analyzing its portfolio of potential DER projects and quantifying the resilience benefits of each project to inform project prioritization and selection of capital investment. 

This session will cover the project and the methodology developed to evaluate technical and community-based characteristics of desirable DER projects from a resilience standpoint and how Duke Energy is applying the framework in its planning and decision-making. The presentation will also discuss the application of survey-based and input-output-based techniques to quantify direct and indirect customer benefits associated with customer interruption costs.