The Energy Central Community Team was in full force at the DistribuTECH 2023 conference, meeting many of our community members and partners in person, learning about the latest and greatest technologies influencing the industry today, and getting a sense of what the upcoming trends will be for the power sector. But no trip to DistribuTECH would be complete without a visit to Energy Central Expert and Lead for Grid Modernization at Burns & McDonnell Doug Houseman.
On the third and final day of the Exhibition Floor being open, we stopped by to chat with Doug about his major takeaways and, with his permission, wanted to share some of his key personal takeaways:
Â
Winner of the Show:
S&C and their new EdgeRestore product. According to Doug, this product goes to underground digital restoration in a way that allows you to sectionalize the underground loop, allowing for the restoration of underground customers in less than a minute. This solution represents a nice big step forward.
Â
Material Standout
In the Brazil booth, there were several items in the world of materials that Doug found exciting. Even if they are less sexy that may appear mundane to most people, the progress on products like the lag screw built out of a different material can transform the world of hanging transformers. This will become critical when the new DOE standards require amorphous core transformers that are larger and heavier.
Â
Energy Policy of Concern
Doug noted a major talking point at the conference was the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking from the Department of Energy released at the end of December that would force transformer manufacturers to trash all their designers and go to a new material for the core simply to achieve two tenths of a percent of efficiency improvements. DOE has modeled doing so would provide a net benefit over 10 years of $13 billion, but Doug noted that doing so would lead to an aggregate increase in transformer costs of up to $45 billion, all to achieve $10 billion of health and $3 billion of electrical savings benefits. This move would particularly harm the mom and pop transformer manufacturers who can’t afford such a transition.
As a result, Doug foresees a lot less construction or rebuilding of distribution circuits. Without the supply of new or rebuilt transformers utilities may have to run transformers at higher loading, and slow construction because of the shortage of transformers. It also ends rebuilding existing transformers, pushing lead times out even further. While this set of new rules will not take full effect until 2027, it provides a disincentive to build more tooling for current designs or increase factory space. Lead times for distribution transformers are already 5 to 7 times what they were in 2018 and getting longer. Prices are also rising with the shortages.  The lack of spares for storm repair may extend power outages for weeks to months if this rule is confirmed.
Â
Other Standout Themes from the Show
Doug highlighted he saw and heard: cyber security, cyber security, cyber security, with multiple vendors claiming the new and best cyber security solution out there, but with the messaging struggling to identify the actual differentiators and/or direct application to the utility sector specifically. For the several dozen vendors touting their cybersecurity solutions at DistribuTECH 2023, Doug foresees less than a handful still being here at the conference by next year. Too many of those vendors don’t understand the intricacies of the utility sector without tacking onto the use cases they would benefit and failing to consider the unique power industry needs, such as being robust for outdoor use.
Â
On the State of Grid Modernization at the Conference
Remembering the major splash of grid modernization discussions in years past, Doug noted that this area has started to become more about incremental improvements rather than major moves, which is a good transition. The closest ‘big bang’ announcement he saw was the Hitachi vegetation management system, which they've written from the ground up to be very nicely done.
Â
On the Topic of Private Wireless Communications
Doug confirmed that Private LTE is going to be pretty much a necessity with the next generation of smart meters rolling out this year and the requirements for 5G being pushed by some vendors. More utilities, as well, will start putting their investment in broadband and private LTE of their own, with these trends poised to continue. Likely several utilities will follow Chattanooga, TN lead with fiber to the home.
Â
What were some of the major themes that you heard at Distributech that you think are worth discussing? Or do you have questions/comments for those who were at the conference if you were unable to attend? Let us know in the comments below!