PLMA (@PLMAflm) reposted this
There's an urgency to our work in #flexibility. We have a window of opportunity to demonstrate the value and reliability of demand-side flexibility and VPPs. How do we align around a common vision and activate scale? We're still actively proving out the various potential use cases for load flexibility, including its ability to positively influence affordability through infrastructure avoidance and price suppression. We need more tangible examples at scale with regulatory approval and shared value across the stack of flexibility stakeholders. Last week, 450+ people gathered at the PLMA (@PLMAflm) Spring Conference in #Indianapolis to collectively iterate on our common vision for flexibility through these challenges. Highlights: **Joint workshop with RMI on #VPP impacts on system-wide #affordability in advance of RMI's VPP Flipbook 2.0 -- where we refined our understanding of the opportunities, but still need more proof points in practice. **Load flexibility valuation workshop showcasing ICF and NASEO - National Association of State Energy Officials' forthcoming National Standard Practice Manual guidance updates for #DER #BCA and thermal energy storage's daily load shifting valuation nuances. **Learnings on internal stakeholder engagement for cross-departmental alignment on demand response strategy development for Seattle City Light, including the value of personalized outreach (like with our customers!) and clarity of purpose relative to individual, organizational, and societal needs. **Honoring the important work of Richard Philip and Rich Barone as PLMA's past Executive Director and Board Chair, respectively, as Cynthia Hunt Jaehne and I step into the new Executive Director and Board Chair roles -- each representing the first woman to hold those roles within PLMA. **Giving my first remarks as PLMA Board Chair immediately after disembarking from a gondola, with the surprising discovery that downtown Indianapolis has canals and is lovely. **And on a personal note...it was a joy bringing my mother to her first (but not last?) flexible load conference after we celebrated Mother's Day with my 96-year-old grandma in my nearby hometown. Much credit to the VPP affordability team (Kevin Brehm, Mary Tobin, EIT, Leah Komos, Jeremy Hutchinson, Mathias Bell, Nathan Frost, Karen L., Vasudha Lathey, Ph.D., Mona Chandra, AIA, LEED AP), the load flex valuation team (Olivia Patterson, AJ Howard, Julie Michals, David Pudleiner, Connor Usry, Boaz Ur, Jane Melia, Ph.D., John Hernandez), the DR strategy team (Karen L., Angela Long, Elizabeth (Eli) Font), the PLMA Officers (Dain Nestel, Ruth Kiselewich, Troy Eichenberger), the PLMA Staff (Cynthia Hunt Jaehne, Judy Knight, Monica Hammond, MBA, Angelica Paul), and so many more folks that make the PLMA community thrive!