One metric to rule them all: A common metric to comprehensively value all distributed energy resources.

Traditional energy and demand savings metrics for distributed energy resources (DER) do not accurately describe the value of DERs to meet future energy needs, minimize grid investments, maintain reliability, and reduce greenhouse gasses. This problem is exacerbated in an increasingly renewable grid in which DER impact varies significantly with time and location. Moreover, different DERs are also valued using disparate metrics; this fragmented DER valuation and procurement creates process and economic inefficiencies. A new path forward is the Total System Benefits metric (TSB); the TSB aggregates all electric system benefits, and relevant environmental externalities that accrue to DERs. The TSB is the only metric that comprehensively values DER's to meet future electric system needs and environmental policy goals. This common metric will enable electricity planners, regulators, utilities, and implementers to best deploy and track DER to meet electric grid and environmental policy needs. This paper explains why the TSB is the right metric to value all DER, data requirements to develop the TSB, how to express DER in terms of the TSB, and lessons learned so far from California's implementation of the TSB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]