it is hard to pick specific technology , so instead I will answer the question with a series of questions that the Utility should ask before considering the technology further:
1) For OT/IT solutions will the software scale to serve all of your customers on a reasonable hardware platform. Many start-up and even mature vendors build their software out of quick to assemble, inefficient coding languages (Java and Python are examples of this) those languages are great for HMI, proof of concept, etc. But they are horrible for high speed computing of the core computing loop. If you have a million customers and they each have solar and an EV, then in a market interval you may need to do 2 million (or more) evaluations. Can the software proposed do that?
2) Does it solve (actually solve) the issue or just reduce it? If it does not actually solve the issue, you will eventually have to go back and solve it, and it will likely be harder to solve then, because you already put a solution in place in the mind of senior management and the commission.
3) Is it directionally correct for the future needs? in the 1990's the industry put in AMI to solve billing issues, and talked about AMI solving a number of operational issues, but frankly history shows that those AMI meters did little to solve operational issues. As we start into a second generation of AMI meters, will the same basic technology actually solve those operational issues or do we need something fundamentally different?
4) Does it meet all of your requirements, or is it promising to meet them at a future date? That promise may never come true.
5) What is the life expectancy? People tend to look at the hardware and assume in the field that it will last a typical utility lifetime for equipment (40+ years), when many of the newer technologies have to be replaced every 8-15 years. Is that replacement cost in your business case?
6) Does the real cost benefit ratio pencil? Without the soft benefits, and other non-economic benefits does the business case turn out positive. Don't forget installation, integration, O&M and other costs. Oh, and if it can't provide the benefit now, don't add those benefits to the business case. Now forecasting additional benefits because more customers buy EVs is fine if the technology can provide that solution today and will scale to those additional vehicles?
7) can I afford to maintain it and operate it without skipping recommended maintenance?
8) With the manufacturer still be in business in 40 years? Hard to know, but you don't want to deploy a residential system, and have the vendor go out of business 2 years after full deployment and you can't get spare parts.
9) Can you go touch a real deployment, can you spend time without the vendor in the room with the people who operate and maintain it? Do they get an incentive on every follow on deployment?
10) Is there something that you are already using that solves this problem today, in a reasonable manner?
11) Does the vendor have enough scale to implement this at 10 or 20 utilities at one time? This has become a huge issue with some very good solutions today.
12) Is there a different way to solve the issue using conventional equipment? (e.g., too much load on a circuit can be solved many ways, one permanent solution is to do a voltage or amperage upgrade to the circuit and solve the problem for a potentially growing consumer load from EVs and building electrification)
13) What does it do for all of your stakeholders? Investors? Customers? Linemen and other field employees? Regulators? business customers? etc.?
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