Risk Management for Clean Power Grids

ARPA-E™s Performance-based Energy Resource Feedback, Optimization, and Risk Management (PERFORM) seeks to develop innovative management systems that represent the relative delivery risk of each asset and balance the collective risk of all assets across the grid. A risk-driven paradigm allows operators to: (i) fully understand the true likelihood of maintaining a supply-demand balance and system reliability, (ii) optimally manage the system, and (iii) assess the true value of essential reliability services. This paradigm shift is critical for all power systems and is essential for grids with high levels of stochastic resources. PERFORM brings together experts in power systems, operations research, finance, and actuarial science to develop solutions to a changing risk profile on the grid. Projects funded under PERFORM include stochastic grid optimization techniques, risk-aware market redesign, and development of financial hedging mechanisms and insurance products to incentivize risk mitigation for economic and reliable grid operation.