Cyber Secure Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings to Enhance Power System Flexibility and Resilience

Modern buildings are becoming more intelligent with advanced optimization, communications, sensors, and control technologies. They are no longer passive receivers of electricity from the grid but are becoming active participants in the grid, known as the grid-interactive efficient buildings (GEBs). With increasing distributed energy resources (DERs, including behind-the-meter ones) in distribution networks, GEBs are expected to integrate various flexible resources to provide multi-time-scale ancillary services, especially under FERC order 2222. Additionally, recent extreme events motivate GEBs to provide user-end resilience when the bulk power systems are undergoing a generation outage or even blackouts. However, the increasing interactions between GEBs and the main grid could induce cyber vulnerability, the impact of which is still not clear. This panel session will discuss new opportunities for GEBs as a core hub for DER integration, an active player in the ancillary service market, a key thrust for grid resilience as well as the associated security issues and solutions.