Camus Energy

"State utility regulators are grappling with how to maintain affordable electricity as demand grows and the energy transition continues." Read about how utility regulators in nine states are navigating the balance between affordability and demand growth from Utility Dive: https://bit.ly/4gtx9yz

Worth the read 👉 How can EVs and the grid work together? From Canary Media Inc. With EV adoption accelerating, utilities, tech providers, and researchers are teaming up to prevent grid overloads. Here are the highlights: 1) Pacific Gas and Electric Company & WeaveGrid: PG&E’s EV Charge Manager, supported by Weave Grid’s technology, is incentivizing customers to allow the utility to optimize charging schedules, avoiding local system peaks. Plus they've released a terrific recent report with Smart Electric Power Alliance. 2) AES Indiana and Camus Energy: A bottoms-up analysis on AES Indiana's distribution network found that grid-optimized EV charging can reduce EV-driven stress and provide savings to the tune of $75 million per year or $1,275 per year for every new EV. 3) Consumers Energy and Utilidata: The two won a $20 million Department of Energy grant to deploy 20,000 next-generation smart meters, which will provide real-time visibility into where EVs are charging. 💡 Why it matters: Active EV managed charging can save utilities millions, keep rates stable, and accelerate sustainable electrification. 📢 The takeaway: EVs won't break the grid. With the right tools and collaboration, they will strengthen it. What’s your take on these innovations? Let’s chat! 👇 Full article linked in comments.

"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," writes Astrid Atkinson, Camus Energy's co-founder and CEO. Utilities can learn from successful strategies of cloud computing and telecom giants to build the kind of reliability that executives and customers can trust. Read more on Cipher News: https://lnkd.in/g6eisgnZ

For most utility teams, the sheer amount of incoming data today feels overwhelming. By adopting cloud-native technologies that can store and analyze massive amounts of data at extremely low costs, utilities can put their data to better use – gaining real-time and day-ahead visibility and forming the foundation for robust, long-term system planning. Read about how utilities can establish a scalable, affordable data management approach that maximizes the use of existing data and future data: https://lnkd.in/ey48ZpB4

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