Itron Inc. and Duke Energy Florida are collaborating to deploy Itron’s newly developed DER Optimizer solution, powered by its IntelliSOURCE demand response platform.
Itron is expanding its IntelliSOURCE platform to be the foundation of a broader distributed energy resource management solution set. The DER Optimizer solution is a suite of modules that enables utilities to monitor residential electric vehicle (EV) charging and manage holistic residential EV charging programs at scale.
Duke Energy Florida will use its existing instance of IntelliSOURCE Enterprise to deploy the new DER Optimization modules and run a new managed EV charging program. The program will identify and provide credits for EV owners to charge their vehicles during off-peak hours. Itron is integrating with a comprehensive EV telematics platform provided by Rolling Energy Resources, which connects to cars through their native APIs (application programming interfaces) to allow easy on-boarding for customers and their vehicles into the program without needing to install additional hardware or communicating charging stations.
The program will begin in Q1 2022 and run for four years. During that time, Duke Energy Florida will use Itron’s DER Optimizer to collect permissible EV charging session data in near-real time and gain insights into residential EV charging behavior.
“As the first utility to deploy Itron’s DER Optimizer solution, Duke Energy is leading the way to better manage EV charging for residential consumers in Florida,” says Don Reeves, senior vice president of outcomes at Itron. “The scalable solution will enable Duke Energy Florida to accommodate future growth of electric transportation within its service territory and discover best practices for residential EV Off Peak programs. Understanding the supply and demand of EV charging is critical. With Itron’s DER Optimizer solution, Duke Energy Florida will have a tool to do just that.”
DER Optimizer expands the capabilities of Itron’s IntelliSOURCE DER management platform to connect to and control a wide range of residential DERs, including EVs, smart inverters, smart thermostats, grid-integrated water heaters, energy management systems and other devices. DER Optimizer features near-real time analytics and optimization that provide DER program managers, grid planners and grid operators with a new class of actionable insights and control capabilities designed to help utilities successfully accommodate a high penetration of DERs.