2019 Performance
We successfully completed the third full year of operation of the BetterGrids Foundation, Inc. All performance metrics improved compared to 2018 except for the “Number of Downloads”, which went down since we have been blocking the bots. Number of registered users was up by 29% to 386. Number of items in the Repository was up by 10% to 454. The corporation met its financial objective of being self-funding, and substantially met the strategic goals set by the Board of Directors.
| 2019 Strategic Goals | Performance | Measurement | |
| 1 | Perform a survey of the user community to identify and prioritize improvements |
|
|
| 2 | Expand the Repository to support DERMS/ADMS studies |
|
|
2020 Strategic Goals
The Board also approved the following strategic goals for 2020 that were recommended by the Policy Committee based on the survey of the Repository user community conducted in 2019.
| 2020 Strategic Goals | Performance | |
| 1 | Improve Repository based upon user community survey | Provide access to and/or links to power flow solvers that can be used with posted models |
| 2 | Create a Forum on BetterGrids.org | Forum implemented and in production use |
| 3 | On-line feedback form from the Repository | Feedback form implemented seeking comments on user experience (e.g., did you find what you were looking for?) |
| 4 | Increase community involvement in BetterGrids |
|
Value-Added Services
In 2019 BetterGrids Foundation engaged in the Secure Grid Data Exchange (SGDX) project funded by ARPA-E and committed to deliver a collaboration platform for the SGDX project team for a fixed annual fee. The collaboration platform has been delivered and the first annual payment was received in 2020. It represents the attainment of a major milestone for the corporation—generating revenue from value-added services—which is fundamental to the BetterGrids’ mission of being a self-funding organization.
Industry Outreach
Several BetterGrids volunteers publicized the Repository while attending the DistribuTECH 2020 in San Antonio in January 2020, and the ARPA-E OPEN 2018 Project Kick Off meeting in New Orleans in March 2020.
Technical Committee Meeting
Technical Committee met on April 30, 2020. An important decision was made on the creation of a Working Group to help with the creation of uniform and best practices for secure exchange of grid data. BetterGrids is a participant in the Secure Grid Data Exchange project funded by ARPA-E. An objective of the project is to help create uniformity and standardize processes and non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) for access to sensitive grid data by legitimate researchers and vendors. Expected benefits include i) improved efficiency of grid data access processes that are very cumbersome today, ii) improved reliability of the grid by better access to the legitimate users of the grid data, and iii) improved cyber security of the grid by designing more secure processes for access to the sensitive grid data.
Stay Current
Stay up to date on the Repository progress and BetterGrids by following us at LinkedIn, Twitter, or our mailing list.