Blackouts, Blazes, and BESS: How Energy Storage Can Mitigate California’s Electricity Woes
Serving a population of over 40 million people and more than 14 million housing units across an area larger than Italy or Japan, California’s electric grid is the most complex of any U.S. state. However, reliably providing power to all 40 million Californians can be a struggle at times, even with upwards of 80,000 MW […]
Keeping an Open Mind: The Benefits of Trimark’s Open Architecture SCADA Systems
Trimark’s SCADA systems are known for being robust and having detailed menus. They enable users to monitor individual devices in real time and receive customized, proactive alarms. To site operators, these features are invaluable. Trimark SCADA’s open architecture foundations are crucial to its ability to present charts and graphs. This blog highlights the open architecture […]
Navigating the Market: CAISO SC ME COMPLIANCE
By following these 6 best practices, a Scheduling Coordinator can successfully maintain compliance with the CAISO Tariff for submitting settlement quality meter data. 1: KNOW YOUR LRA REQUIREMENTS Identify your Local Regulator Authority CPUC will be the LRA for the majority of load SC MEs Other LRAs could include City Councils, Municipal Utilities, and even […]
The Bigger Picture: Commissioning a 200 MW Solar Site
Programming meters and developing SCADA systems are certainly rewarding processes, but there’s something about being out in the field that makes you think about the scale – moreover, the importance – of our work. Such was Donald Weingartner’s experience this past Halloween. Donald, a meter technician and CAISO inspector at Trimark, was on site in […]
Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) as a CAISO Non-Generator Resource (NGR): 7 Things You Should Know
CAISO Market Participation Alternatives for Batteries Most Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) connected to the California grid have participated in a behind the meter (BTM) configuration. This approach enables BESS owners to manage their retail energy costs, which include peak load shaving, load shifting, and demand charge management. Unfortunately, these are not wholesale market transactions. […]
Managing the Flow: How Trimark Services the Power and Water Resources Pooling Authority’s Meters
Formed in 2005 as a Joint Powers Authority to give California’s public water agencies an advantage when purchasing electricity, the Power and Water Resources Pooling Authority (PWRPA) manages the individual power assets and retail electrical loads that serve 15 agricultural and municipal water districts throughout much of California. PWRPA is invaluable to farmers throughout the […]
By The Numbers: How Trimark Manages Meter Data
Metering is a core component of Trimark’s mission, and as such managing the data gathered by revenue meters at our clients’ sites is of the highest priority. With a data analytics team that has over 67 years of combined experience, it’s no wonder why so many within the industry choose Trimark for their metering needs. […]
CAISO: Remote Intelligence Gateway to Compliancy
Updating or replacing any device can be a hassle. However, unlike updating your smartphone to the latest version of iOS or Android, making sure a Remote Intelligence Gateway (RIG) remains CAISO-compliant has much more pressing implications—especially when neglecting to do so threatens the operations of an entire site. In the Know For those not intimately […]
CAISO 2019 Resource Interconnection Fair – Do You Know The New NRI Changes?
Every year, CAISO holds an educational forum to help manufacturers, industry experts, developers, and academics understand the processes involved in connecting resources to the California ISO grid. The Resource Interconnection Fair provides an opportunity to learn about the various aspects of resource interconnection, from initiating a new interconnection request through commercial operation. Timeline Changes for […]
Trimark Advances its Industry Leading SCADA system with Automated Dispatch System (ADS) and Automated Generator Control (AGC) Sensing and Switching
Responding to industry demand, Trimark has automated the process of alternating between CAISO ADS and AGC control methods. This enhancement sets the stage for efficient integration of Battery Energy Storage Systems throughout the CAISO control area. By automatically sensing the mode of operation, generation resources can maximize revenues and easily bid into the AGC market […]