Product Abstract

Beginning in the 1970s with the oil embargo, utilities began looking for ways to increase the efficiency of the power distribution system, to reduce peak demand, and to conserve energy. During this period, several utilities began to test the concept of lowering the voltage to lower the demand and energy consumption on the power delivery system. As climate change and global warming became serious issues in the early 2000s, utilities began looking at Conservation Voltage Reduction (CVR) programs once again as a way to conserve energy and avoid emissions. Old became new as CVR programs began to rise in popularity. With 20 years of technology improvements and communications having been established to distribution equipment, the focus of minimizing demand and energy consumption on the system shifted to controlling both the voltage and volt ampere reactive (VAR) levels in near real time via Volt-VAR Optimization (VVO) programs. In response, the Smart Grid Demonstration Project chose CVR and VVO as one of its Strategic Topics for 2011.

Objective

Initial conversations among project members indicated a special interest in industry best practices for CVR/VVO, CVR/VVO benefits, and CVR/VVO modeling analysis. These topics are all covered in the final report along with the history, basics, and current implementations of CVR/VVO.

Approach

The project team compiled the results of a year of research by the Smart Grid Demonstration Project on CVR and VVO. The document provides a good primer on the application of CVR and VVO to the Smart Grid. It covers the history of CVR/VVO, basics of CVR/VVO, costs and benefits of VVO, modeling analysis of CVR/VVO using the OpenDSS (OpenDistribution System Simulator), utility implementations, and the use of the IntelliGrid Methodology in the design phase of a CVR/VVO project. The document also includes all of the presentations given by project members and industry experts on CVR/VVO Best Practices and the development of use cases. The appendices include three CVR/VVO use cases from EPRI's Smart Grid Resource Center Use Case Repository.

Results

This document is a compilation of the project's yearlong research on CVR and VVO. It covers the history and basics of CVR and VVO and discusses how they fit into the Smart Grid. The document analyzes the cost and benefits of VVO and provides an update on utility CVR/VVO implementation activities. Appendices include the VVO/CVR presentations given to the Smart Grid Demonstration Project members at the 2011 Smart Grid Advisory Meetings.

Application, Value and Use

The young engineer or new smart grid team member will find great informational value in the final document's coverage of the history and the basics of CVR/VVO and the document will give every reader a good idea of how CVR/VVO is currently being implemented by different utilities in their smart grid projects—Bob Uluski's "CVR/VVO Best Practices" presentation, included as an appendix, gives a particularly valuable overview of CVR/VVO in today's industry.