Itron Inspire Insights: Chris Moris on PG&E’s Socket of the Future and Grid Innovation- [an Energy Central Power Perspectives™ Expert Interview]

In our conversation, Moris also highlights PG&E’s partnership with Itron to develop solutions using Riva meters and grid-edge intelligence, offering utilities new tools to enhance grid resilience and customer engagement. This conversation provides invaluable insights for utility professionals navigating the complexities of grid modernization and customer-driven electrification. Read on and join the conversation below to tap into these exciting learnings.

Energy Central: At Itron Inspire, you discussed PG&E’s ‘Socket of the Future’ initiative. For those in our audience who weren’t able to attend, can you elaborate on this program and the key takeaways of how utility leaders should adjust their decision-making when it comes to AMI system capabilities? 

Chris Moris: Our approach to future AMI and decentralized computing is to leverage the potential of the socket plus next generation meters with a focus on the tangible value and benefits for customers. The meter socket is a standardized piece of electric property, on every home, that can be used for all kinds of electrification enablement and the next generation smart meters that go in those sockets essentially have all the functionality of an iPhone. This has opened up a whole world of possibility – the challenge then being where do we start? We decided to focus on the nexus of both customer and grid value – not to just think about this as a utility back-office system, but how can this system benefit the customer, the utility, and all ratepayers? That was the bar. To that end, the first application on the meter we’re deploying will enable a customer with a 100A panel to install home EV charging while avoiding what can be a costly (often $5,000-$15,000 or potentially more) panel or service upgrade. About half of our customers have 100A panels and this solution could make the difference between being able to afford an electric vehicle or not. On our end, this allows PG&E to potentially defer a costly secondary transformer replacement which benefits all ratepayers.

EC: How does PG&E balance innovation and practicality when adopting technologies like Riva meters? 

CM: Generally speaking, we want to embed practicality into innovation. We’re spending more effort upfront to make sure we’re prioritizing opportunities that have the largest value for our customers, and then finding ways to reduce the complexity, cost, and timeline to get to first results and proof of concept. What can we do to take a big idea, simplify it down, prove its benefits to customers, and then iterate until it’s great? We’re learning a lot here from our partners and others in tech and tangential industries.

EC: Another exciting recent announcement was PG&E’s EV Connect program, which ties into that Socket of the Future initiative. What are the key program objectives for this and how does it fit into the overall PG&E grid modernization goals? 

CM: EV Connect is the first product, or outcome, of the socket of the future initiative. As I mentioned, EV connect is that nexus of customer and grid value that lets us begin to deploy next generation smart metering. This program, we believe, has the potential to eliminate the need for electrification-driven customer panel upgrades and to defer many secondary transformer upgrades extending their useful life in the delivery of safe and reliable electricity. The net-net is enabling customers to move off fossil fuels, to get an EV, to get a heat pump, and to do that without the utility being a blocker, but rather an enabler of the solution – all while finding ways to actually reduce cost to all customers. That last part is the emphasis: it’s about showing up where the customer is at, helping them through that challenge, but also doing it in a way that brings affordability to everyone. It’s not easy. We still have a lot to learn with this project, but we’re getting our first customer set up this quarter, it’s an exciting time.

EC: How is the collaboration with Itron enhancing PG&E’s ability to control electric vehicle charging through grid edge intelligence?  

CM: It’s no secret we’re not a tech company – nor would our customers want us to be. We’re working with Itron, as an enablement partner, to collaborate on the design of the solution. In this case, the “Grid Edge Intelligence” portion is the ability for the smart meter to run an application on the meter, which coordinates with neighboring meters, and calculates real time grid limits which are then communicated to the customer owned EV charger. This type of “edge” capability is a breakthrough, allowing for the grid to be communicative, responsive, and interactive with customer’s devices in a way that enables breakthrough experiences and solutions that we couldn’t offer before.

We’re bringing a deep understanding of the grid, its challenges, and years of “know how” from subject matter experts to more or less define what the solution needs to do. Itron is then building it and doing what they do best. It’s a win-win partnership and this is a theme we’re looking at leaning into more across the industry. In fact, PG&E has shared an R&D strategy report with the industry with a call to action on how to work with and innovate with us. From that, 680+ companies have pitched solutions to us and we’re collaborating with several of them, just like Itron, on ways to accelerate our transition to clean energy in an affordable manner.

EC: With the growth of EV adoption, how does PG&E foresee its role evolving in terms of supporting and managing grid demand from transportation electrification?

CM: PG&E wants our customers to be able to connect the devices they care about, including EVs, at the lowest cost possible, and to make the system safe and affordable for everyone. We’d like to be an enabler for our customers, a trusted partner, and a low-cost solution throughout. We believe new technologies and partnerships, plus consistent improvement on customer experience are key to that.

Looking ahead, how do you see the combination of Riva meters and grid edge intelligence shaping the future of PG&E’s customer engagement and grid operations?

Let’s just say there’s a lot of potential there, and a lot more we need to figure out.