National Grid (US)

National Grid is committed to delivering safe and reliable energy to the customers and communities we serve. National Grid is one of the largest investor-owned energy companies in the US — serving more than 20 million people throughout New York and Massachusetts.
Status
New Krumkill NWA
Dynamic Load Management (DLM)
Contact and Additional Information
Non-Wires Alternatives
100+ MW
Capacity sought
$15+ M
Budget

Notices

December 10, 2024
Current Opportunities
Current Opportunities

Please visit our platform for the most up-to-date list and details of current opportunities. Refer to the appropriate tabs above for more information on the below programs.

As of December 2024, current opportunities in New York State include:

New Krumkill Load Relief

  • Type: Non-Wires Alternative (NWA)
  • Stage: Open for participation through February 4, 2025, 5 PM ET
  • RFP documents: Refer to “New Krumkill NWA” tab 
  • Need timing: 2026-2030
  • Need size: From 0.2 MW in 2026, up to 2.2 MW in 2030

Dynamic Load Management (DLM) for 2026 Vintage Year

  • Type: Term-DLM and Auto-DLM
  • Stage: Open for participation through February 28, 2025, 5 PM ET
  • RFP documents: Refer to “Dynamic Load Management (DLM)” tab
  • Need timing: May 1, 2026 to September 30, 2028 (3 years for Term-DLM) or September 30, 2030 (5 years for Auto-DLM)
  • Need size: 11.1 MW for Auto-DLM across 6 areas, and 100+ MW for Term-DLM across the entire service territory

Overview

National Grid is looking to procure Non-Wires Alternatives (NWA) solutions for their New Krumkill Substation in the Albany area. 

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National Grid has made significant changes to their approach for procuring NWAs, including:

  • Decreasing upfront bidder response requirements
  • Allowing ‘event-based’ grid resources to participate, including traditional demand response without real-time telemetry and connection to National Grid’s SCADA systems
  • Providing flexibility to bidding for either single or multi-year contracts, as well as for years beyond the need
  • Creating a standardized services agreement to expedite the contracting process

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We encourage interested participants, including DR and DER developers, aggregators, operators, and owners, to review the RFP documents, watch the pre-bid webinar and slides (found below), and register on Piclo Flex.

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Participants must submit company and asset information, and submit their price bids on Piclo Flex in order for their offers to be evaluated by National Grid. If you are unable to complete the bid process using the Piclo Flex platform, please reach out to support@picloflex.com and Non-WiresAlternativeSolutions@nationalgrid.com. 

Materials

All RFP materials can be found below:

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Q&A

Please refer to this file for all questions that have been submitted, and their answers. You can submit your questions until January 13, 2025, by emailing Non-WiresAlternativeSolutions@nationalgrid.com

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Steps to Participate in NWAs

Follow the below steps to participate in NWAs:

  1. Register - You must create an account on Piclo Flex
  2. Company Qualification - Complete the brief questionnaire about your company. Navigate to Manage > Applications > National Grid Non-Wires Alternatives 2024 > Apply.
  3. Asset Qualification - Navigate to Manage > Assets > Download latest template. Review the instructions on README tab, and complete the tab(s). Once completed, save locally on your computer, then upload the file on that same Assets page.
    1. Note: We encourage you to upload your entire portfolio of operational and in-development assets so that you are notified when new opportunities open where they are located.
  4. Bidding - Submit pricing bids. Navigate to Manage > Bids > Submit new bids > Select the Secure and/or Sustain Service you’ll bid into, the assets you’ll bid, and fill out the fields. Confirm and submit your bid.
    1. Note: You can edit your submitted bid up until the final bid deadline of February 4th, 5 PM ET.
  5. ‍Decision and Contract - National Grid will review submitted bids and make awards. There may be multiple awards per competition and service window. Awardees will then review and negotiate the contract with National Grid.

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Overview

National Grid is seeking resources for its Dynamic Load Management (DLM) Program. More details below:

  • DLM is a demand response program open to C&I DR and DER aggregations, in addition to front-of-the-meter projects
  • Term-DLM is the territory-wide program for resources anywhere in National Grid’s upstate New York service territory, where pricing is bid by participants
  • Auto-DLM is targeted at specific areas on their grid, and has defined pricing (see pp. 8-10 of the RFP)
  • Resources, individual projects, and DER aggregations can participate in this Term-DLM and Auto-DLM season if they:
    • have a National Grid utility interval meter
    • can respond to signals with at least 21 hours’ advance notice - this is a new, customer-friendly update; previously, Auto-DLM required a 10 minute response time‍
    • aggregate to a minimum of 50 kW capacity
    • are installed and ready to operate by May 1, 2026

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We encourage interested participants, including DR and DER developers, aggregators, operators, and owners, to review the RFP documents, attend the pre-bid webinar on December 17, 10-11 AM ET, and register on Piclo Flex.

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Any questions on or technical issues with submitting a proposal before the deadline should be promptly directed to TermandAutoDLM@nationalgrid.com 

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Materials

All RFP materials can be found below:

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Q&A

We will post questions and their answers as they are submitted. You can submit your questions until January 8, 2025, by emailing TermandAutoDLM@nationalgrid.com 

Steps to Participate in DLM

Follow the below steps to participate in Term-DLM and/or Auto-DLM:

  1. Register - You must create an account on Piclo Flex.
  2. Company Qualification - Complete the brief questionnaire about your company. Navigate to Manage > Applications > National Grid New York DLM > Apply.
    1. Note: If you are an approved CSP with National Grid or a NYISO DR provider, you can skip this step, but please send a signed NDA to support@piclo.energy
  3. ‍Asset Qualification - Download this template, and complete the steps in the Planned Assets tab to fill out and upload the template.
    1. Note: We encourage you to upload your portfolio of operational and in-development assets so that you are notified when new opportunities open where they are located. However, you are only obligated to provide a MW capacity for Term-DLM and Auto-DLM.
  4. Bidding - Submit pricing bids for Term-DLM and/or Auto-DLM. Navigate to Manage > Bids > Submit new bids > Select the program and zones(s) you’ll bid into, the assets you’ll bid, and fill out the Capacity and Service fee offer price. You can fill out 4:00:00 in the Maximum runtime field. Confirm and submit your bid.
    1. Note: You can edit your submitted bid up until the final bid deadline of February 28th, 5 PM ET.
  5. ‍Decision and Contract - National Grid will review submitted bids and make awards. There may be multiple awards per competition and service window. Awardees will then review and negotiate the contract with National Grid.

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Please visit the press releases for more information:

DLM:

NWA:

If you have any questions or need any help, please send an email to flex-usa@piclo.energy.

We are compiling frequently asked questions and will publish them soon.

Additional Information

Business Partners - Discover information for trade partners and professionals, energy supply companies, suppliers and vendors, and about NWAs and the system data portals.

Suppliers and Vendors - Find everything from how to become a supplier to enrollment for new vendors as well as FAQs, forms, and applications for current vendors and suppliers.

Explore the links below for information specific to each of our jurisdictions.

‍Interactive mapping tools

Visibility into the electric grid distribution system in National Grid’s service territories:

Massachusetts System Data Portal

‍New York System Data Portal

State initiatives

Initiatives that engage and enable NWA solutions:

MA Bill H.1725

‍NY REV Connect

Explore the regulatory landscape.  

Access useful dockets and information regarding NWA activities and proposals in each state:

MA Department of Public Utilities

‍NY Department of Public Service

Tariff provisions

Learn about tariff provisions for each of National Grid’s service territories:

MA Tariff Provisions

‍NY Tariff Provisions

Analyze benefit-cost analysis

BCA information and references relevant to NWA for each state:

NY BCA Handbook

What is an NWA?

Non-Wires Alternative (NWA) is the inclusive term for any electrical grid investment that is intended to defer or remove the need to construct or upgrade components of a distribution and/or transmission system, or “wires investment”.

These NWA investments are required to be cost-effective compared to the wires investment and are required to meet the specified electrical grid need.

An NWA can include any action, strategy, program, or technology that meets this definition and these requirements.

Some technologies and methodologies that can be applicable as an NWA investment include demand response, solar, energy storage, combined heat and power (CHP), microgrid, conservation or energy efficiency measure, and other distributed energy resources (DERs) or distributed generation (DG).  NWA projects can include these and other investments individually or in combination to meet the specified need in a cost-effective manner.
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NWA Solutions

To identify potential solutions, National Grid issues requests for proposals (RFPs) which are open to all NWA solution approaches. We encourage potential bidders to consider the following solution approaches when developing a proposal:

Standard solution approach: Solutions that contain a single technology in a single bid proposal.

Portfolio solution approach: Solutions that contain multiple technologies (i.e., solar and storage, targeted demand response and wind, etc.) in a holistic, integrated manner as part of a single bid proposal.

Partial solution approach: Partial solutions that provide a portion of the solution requirements may be considered where National Grid can independently identify other partners to formulate a full solution.

Partnership solution approach: A solution approach where bidders team up as appropriate to offer a multifaceted, multi-bidder solution using multiple technologies as a joint, integrated proposal set, if this would provide the best-value proposition.

The Company may combine multiple, partial Proposals to meet the full need, where a single Proposal alone does not meet the full need, or Bidders could collaborate and submit a combined Proposal, consisting of several partial solutions, that together meet the full need.

National Grid has several long-term goals in consideration, including commitments and environmental considerations stated in the National Grid Responsible Business Charter 20201, which are in alignment with state, federal, and internal drive factors, that impact the viability of any given proposal.

Proposed technologies and methodologies should have the capability to address the electrical grid need and increase grid reliability while being cost-effective in comparison to the wires investment as stated in each RFP. Proposed solutions that meet all the requirements stipulated in an RFP are preferred, by any of the solution approaches detailed above. Please note that National Grid is seeking solutions that currently exist to solve the stated need.