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In the high-stakes world of modern power, the conversation has shifted from "where do we build the next plant?" to "how do we use what we already have?" The consensus among a recent panel, "Distributed Energy Resources in an Era of Load Growth: Business Opportunities and Challenges," at 91ÊÓƵ’s 2026 Energy Week was that distributed energy resources (DERs) (local, small-scale technologies such as solar panels, batteries, small generators, and fuel cells) are now essential to power generation, transmission, and storage. The panel, moderated by Tepper School of Business Professor Chris Telmer, included Elizabeth Cook, Vice President of Technical Strategy, Association of Edison Illuminating Companies (AEIC); Don Dimitrievich, Senior Managing Director and Portfolio Manager, Energy Infrastructure Credit, Nuveen; Colleen Lueken, Vice President of Analytics, Lightshift Energy; and Daniel Schnitzer, Consulting Advisor - Analytics, Honeywell; formerly CEO of Sparkmeter.

Lessons from the 2021 Texas Power Crisis

To illustrate the potential value of DERs, Don Dimitrevich pointed to the 2021 Texas energy crisis. During that event, three consecutive winter storms caused spot market prices to skyrocket to $9,000 per megawatt hour, or 400 times the average price. This extreme volatility highlighted a desperate need for grid resilience and served as a catalyst for the shift toward more adaptable energy solutions.

Today, these price spikes are being mitigated through distributed storage and demand-side management, allowing consumers to shift their consumption patterns to stabilize the grid from the bottom up. This means flexibility could potentially replace raw volume as the most valuable currency in the energy market.

The Accountability Gap: Why Aren't We There Yet?

If DERs like smart thermostats, residential batteries, and heat pumps are so effective, why aren’t they everywhere? Elizabeth Cook highlighted a significant accountability gap in the industry. A single device connected to the grid can trigger analysis from nine to ten different agencies. But who is responsible if a distributed asset fails to perform during a peak? Cook argued that the industry needs clear contractual partnerships and a massive change management effort to reskill a workforce built for one-way power flow.Ìý

Real-World Use Cases: The Virtual Power Plant

The panel agreed that virtual power plants (VPP), which are cloud-based distributed energy resources, have become more of an option. Lueken explained how utility-scale storage is now being used to defer expensive transmission upgrades, providing a solution to grid congestion.

Meanwhile, Schnitzer described the power of smart control systems that can turn a collection of individual heat pumps and thermostats into a virtual plant capable of 100MW of load. Dr. Cook added that combining residential batteries with AI-driven analytics allows for real-time grid optimization that was impossible a decade ago.

Bypassing the 17-Year Wait

The traditional way of fixing the grid is agonizingly slow. Dimitrevich noted that the SunZia Wind and Transmission project, the largest renewable energy project to date and capable of supplying over 3,000 megawatts of wind power, took 17 years to get approved. With generation and distribution costs rising, the world cannot wait decades for new lines.Ìý

DERs offer a vital workaround. By intelligently placing storage and smart controls at the distribution level, utilities can defer the need for massive transmission projects. It is about scaling the small to create a material impact overall.

Looking Ahead: Avoiding Regret in 2029

The discussion concluded with a way forward for utility companies to ensure they aren't looking back with regret three years from now. The panel’s advice was threefold:

Schnitzer emphasized that you cannot manage what you cannot see. Better analytics are the foundation of a modern grid. Dr. Cook argued for creating a corporate culture where it is safe to be a change champion. In an AI-driven economy, speed is everything. Using AI to manage DERs at scale is the only way to solve the speed-to-power issue. The panel concluded that the shift toward DERs proves that the future of energy is about thinking smarter and turning local flexibility into global resilience.
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