Demand response programs

Alstom's Latest Demand Response Management System to Manage New DR Systems for NV Energy

Alstom recently released its latest demand response management system (DRMS) to NV Energy to provide new, advanced functions for the utility's demand response (DR) programs. The latest version of e-terraDRBizNet provides advanced functions to interface with both proprietary and industry standards-based customer devices; this includes the likes of Cooper Power Systems, Carrier/United Technologies, and Corporate Systems Engineering for existing operational load management systems, and Building

Energy Efficiency: 15 percent by 2020?

A new survey of energy industry experts reveals a surprising consensus on the size of the energy efficiency resource. Overall, energy efficiency is expected to lower electricity consumption by 5 to 15 percent, and natural gas consumption by 5 to 10 percent. These results debunk the notion that conservation is a fad. On the contrary, they herald a new beginning for energy efficiency.

Efficiency pessimists contend that energy efficiency (inclusive of demand response) is unlikely to make much of a dent on energy consumption and peak demand in the year 2020 since all the low-hanging fruit has been harvested. Ergo, the solution to meeting the nation’s future energy needs in a carbon-constrained future is to build more power plants (preferably those that don’t burn coal), transmission lines and distribution systems.

Low-Income Reality Check

Evaluating the impact of dynamic pricing.

Are residential time-of-use prices only effective for middle class households, or do low-income customers benefit too—as authors Lisa Wood and Ahmad Faruqui asserted in their October 2010 article? Data from pilot programs show that low-income customers exhibit a reduced ability to benefit from dynamic pricing. Demand response programs should accommodate the realities of low-income customers’ consumption patterns.

Payable on Demand

Utilities are finding strategic benefits in demand-based metering technologies.

New metering dramatically expands utilities’ data-handling requirements. Stepping up internal facilities for analyzing this data lets utilities experiment with different price signals and incentives. By gauging the effect on overall load and on grid constraints, utilities can maximize the return on existing transmission assets and reduce the need for new investment. Just as important, utilities can use the new data to develop regulated and competitive products for specific customer niches. This is more than a profit opportunity. It is also part of a utility’s public obligation.