Revisions to CA’s Rule 21 will mean more active role for DERs in the grid

The California Public Utilities Commission approved revisions to Rule 21, the rule that sets interconnection policies, that allow DERs to be more active in the California grid. The changes order the state’s three big investor-owned utilities to create processes permitting fast-track interconnection of solar and other projects that use “limited generation profiles” to alter their impact on the grid. This includes allowing solar+storage systems to incorporate their flexibility into the grid as a precondition of their interconnection. These revisions could ensure more grid stability because it proactively addresses issues like grid voltage imbalances at the same time DERs are added to the grid.