East River Electric 2020 Annual Report

facility and is a partnership between East River on
behalf of our member systems, DSU and the National
Rural Electric Cooperative Association.
The partnership is exploring groundbreaking
technologies that will be included in the next
generation rural home and is also working to find
solutions that will allow electric cooperatives to play
an integral role in helping consumers optimize their
energy use.
home technology to optimize their energy usage while
allowing East River system operators to continue, and
possibly enhance, our load management program,”
said Studer. “We’re excited about the amount of
progress the researchers have made on the project
and are excited for the project’s next phase.”
“From wi-fi thermostats to smart appliances, our
network of electric cooperatives is seeing increased
adoption of smart home technologies among
consumers,” said Chief Member and Public Relations
Officer Chris Studer. “While current technologies can
help manage electricity usage and benefit consumers,
we noticed a gap between the capabilities of those
technologies and the needs of our utility network to
connect to those technologies. We hope to close that
gap through this project.”
DSU researchers began by investigating current
smart home technologies to learn more about their
capabilities. Unable to find an existing interface
that met the needs of East River’s evolving load
management program, the researchers began
developing hardware to connect multiple devices
in a prototype “home hub” device. They are also in
the early stages of developing a software system to
control those devices.
Much of the early research has involved simulations
and testing the hardware and software to figure out
what level of utility control is possible with different
devices.
“Our team at East River has kept in close contact with
the researchers to guide them down a path we believe
will help cooperative members who adopt connected
In collaboration with East River staff, researchers at Dakota
State University developed hardware like the prototype
above and software for a home hub designed to meet the
needs of East River’s evolving load management program.
In the next year, the researchers will continue refining
the home hub’s hardware and software. If all goes
well with that process, they will begin field testing
the interface in end consumer homes. The research
efforts are being led by teams of DSU undergraduate
and graduate students.
“The fact that East River is really, in a lot of ways,
leading a national effort to update and find new ways
to do things, I think really makes them an exciting
partner,” said Tom Halverson, computer science
professor at DSU who is leading the research team.
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