Partnership will help Members Take Control of Distributed Energy Resources
Lake Saint Louis, Mo., March 3, 2023 – National Information Solutions Cooperative (NISC), a leading provider of software solutions to broadband and utility organizations, has announced a partnership with Open Access Technology International, Inc. (OATI), a leading provider of Distributed Energy Resource Management Solutions (DERMS). The partnership will allow NISC Members to leverage integration between NISC solutions and OATI DERMS software to better manage distributed energy resources (DER) on their systems like thermostats, direct load controllers, solar panels and electric vehicles.
“We couldn’t be more excited to partner with OATI for our DERMS initiative,” said David Bonnett, NISC Vice President of Product Management for NISC. “As distributed energy resources continue to be adopted across the country, NISC Members need a solution to better understand and support them. Integration between OATI and NISC solutions will give our Members industry-leading tools to manage these processes.”
OATI’s webSmartEnergy® DERMS helps utilities manage the technical, operational and economic challenges with managing DER. The solution helps mitigate the reliability impacts from DER while maximizing the economic value to utilities and their customers as these resources continue to grow.
Integrated with NISC’s Marketing solution, Multi-Channel Messenger, Meter Data Management and SmartHub, NISC Members will be able to manage the entire DER program lifecycle. Members can identify and communicate directly to consumers regarding DER programs and collect information that helps enhance and stabilize grid reliability and shift load away from higher price time periods.
“As we learn more about the impact DER can have on a utility’s system, we know customers, and consumers, need the tools to ensure they can provide reliable service,” said Sasan Mokhtari, Ph.D., President & CEO of OATI. “The integration between OATI and NISC will ensure that utility providers have the tools, from communication to grid management, to continue providing reliable energy and increase customer satisfaction.”
NISC’s previously announced DERMS partner program utilizes a set of Application Programming Interfaces (API) to integrate with leading DERMS providers for an end-to-end solution. A standardized set of integration points builds an affordable, repeatable process that NISC and OATI will utilize for a complete DERMS solution.
“DERMS uniquely exists at the interface between market-based operational needs and member-facing services,” said Mitch Vanden Langenberg, Supervisor, Load Management for Dairyland Power Cooperative. “The integration enables seamless data workflows between systems, allowing distributors to manage the end customer relationships within established systems, while the OATI DERMS used at Dairyland optimizes these member-side resources for operational and market benefits that support reliability and sustainability.”
For more information on NISC’s DERMS Partner Program, please contact Walt Hills, NISC Product Manager, at walt.hillis@nisc.coop.