Demand Response Grows More Resourceful

Abstract

Demand response resources refer to distributed energy assets
that can be managed to reduce loads of end-use customers during
critical or expensive periods of time on the electric power grid. Two
types of demand response programs are popular. Load response pro-
grams contract and pay for participants to curtail all or parts of their
load for periods of two to four hours, typically for a limited number
of days, such as 15. Price response programs offer innovative rates,
such as real-time pricing and critical peak pricing, that allow custom-
ers to save money by optimizing energy use, and thereby make more
efficient use of electric system resources.
Demand response programs are growing among distribution elec-
tric utilities and the regional power grid operators. Three of the largest
grid operators are showing great success with demand response. They
are the PJM, the New York Independent System Operator, and the In-
dependent System Operator of New England. For 2004, they enrolled
7,190 megawatts (MWs) of resources, an increase of 72 percent from
2003. Further increases may be expected as ancillary services, such
as spinning reserve and replacement reserves, are supplied by some
demand response resources, which can react quicker than traditional
central station power plants.