A major challenge in renewable energy planning and integration with existing systems is the management of intermittence of the resources and customer demand uncertainties that are attributed to climates. In emerging distributed grids, state-of-the-art optimization techniques were used for cost and reliability objectives. In the existing literature, power dispatch and demand side management schemes were implemented for various techno-economic objectives. In renewable energy-based distributed grids, power dispatch is strategic to system operations. However, demand side management is preferred, as it allows more options for customer participation and active management of energy in buildings. Moreover, the demand side management can simply follow supplies. This paper investigates the implications of demand side management as it affects planning and operations in renewable energy-based distributed grids. Integration of demand side management in customer-oriented plans such as the time-of-use and real-time-pricing on residential and commercial demands is conceptualised to ensure effective customer participation which maintains the valued comforts. Moreover, the optimised tariff integrated demand side management implementations based on the utility-initiated demand response programmes are envisaged to offset conflicting objectives of the economy and customer comforts within residential and commercial demands and are also viewed as a step towards efficient management of energy in buildings.