Minnesota Co-op Nears Completion of Ambitious Smart Grid Load Management System

Minnesota-based Dakota Electric Association is implementing an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) meter data management (MDM) and load management system, including all the integration and internal processes to use the data. The cooperative is in the final stages of exchanging 120,000 meters and about halfway done with replacing 50,000 load control devices.

Dakota kicked off the MDM project in 2013 by identifying its technology needs and developing a vision of what success looked like with a diverse cross-functional team. That led to the creation of a plan to update its customer information system (CIS) and build a foundation to support the flow of data. The plan included working with its generation and transmission cooperative and installing fiber to its substations.

Due to the cost of the project, it was imperative to educate its board as well as the cooperative’s senior leadership team on the project plan and risk analysis. Dakota used a unique exercise to have two groups of three board members and senior management present pros and cons of the project to better understand the plans to mitigate risk. The exercise worked. Board members and senior leadership gained a better understanding of the project, potential risks and how they would be addressed.

In this episode of CFC Solutions Cast, we chat with Dakota Senior Principal and Regulatory Engineer Craig Turner and NRTC Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer Greg Santoro as they discuss how Dakota’s smart grid load management project identified and mitigated risk, leveraged other cooperatives’ experience implementing similar technology, piloted the software and integration before moving forward and incorporated the lessons learned throughout the project.