Energy consumption and climate change are topics that are in the public eye. The Paris Agreement from 2015, dealing with greenhouse gas emission mitigation, sent a strong message and created a climate that is favorable for investment in renewable energy. For many, the transition to a renewable energy future is recognized as central to addressing climate change. Some go as far as stating that we are in the middle of the next energy revolution, with renewable energy being the next logical step after firewood, coal/steam, and, lastly, the "petroleum age" that started in the second half of the 20th century. Distributed energy resources (DER) like wind and solar are destined to play an important role in this energy revolution.

However, there is also a downside: network transmission and distribution operators face the risk of network disruption due to the rapid growth of DER. DER turns the traditional, centralized approach to energy generation and distribution on its head by adding generation capability at the edge of the grid. Network infrastructure that was designed for centralized, one-way generation-to-consumption, needs to accommodate a growing number of prosumers, distributed energy owner-operators at the edge of the grid who both consume and produce energy.

This changes the landscape for distributing energy and makes managing the reliability of the network even more essential, to ensure it can absorb the influx of DER while continuing to operate in a reliable and predictable way. In fact, many aspects of managing electric networks are affected by this, including software for designing network extensions or renewals, which traditionally rely on the use of geographic information systems (GIS) as well power systems analysis. In the era of DER, these traditional ways of working with software applications prove insufficient. This paper discusses what is required to effectively deploy GIS and network analysis capabilities to manage the impact of distributed energy resources on the efficiency, resilience, and sustainability of the electric grid.