Load Management Standards May Facilitate Effectiveness of Demand Response Programs

subscribe

Faced with a deficit in meeting its demand response (DR) goals, the California Energy Commission held a workshop on June 5 in Sacramento to consider the imposition of load management standards.

In a white paper prepared for the Energy Commission, The Brattle Group reviewed California's early history with load management standards and provided options that could increase the effectiveness and penetration of load management and demand response programs. After evaluating the reasons for the current DR deficit, the white paper discussed how government standards could be used to overcome it. An encouraging example is provided by the state's appliance and building efficiency standards, which have contributed half of the gain in energy efficiency over the past three decades.

The Brattle Group's white paper contains three illustrative proposals for achieving the state's DR potential. The first is a pricing standard that would make dynamic pricing the default tariff for all customer classes. The second and third proposals provide enabling technologies that would make it easy for customers to respond to dynamic pricing. They would mandate that programmable communicating thermostats be installed in all residential and small commercial and industrial buildings and that automated demand response software, which works with energy management and control systems, be installed in medium and large commercial and industrial buildings.

Ahmad Faruqui, a principal at The Brattle Group who led the research, noted that in the absence of standards, DR in California is likely to yield a drop of only three percent in the state's peak demand. Faruqui concluded, "With all three illustrative standards in place, a load drop of 15 percent becomes feasible. This would yield a reduction of $8.5 billion in the state's electricity costs over a 20-year horizon."

The Brattle Group provides consulting services and expert testimony in economics and finance to corporations, law firms, and public agencies worldwide. We are active in a wide range of areas including antitrust and competition, valuation and damages, and regulation and planning in network industries.

Related News

manitoba transmission map

$453M Manitoba Hydro line to Minnesota could face delay after energy board recommendation

WINNIPEG - A recommendation from the National Energy Board could push back the construction start date of a $453-million hydroelectric transmission line from Manitoba to Minnesota.

In a letter to federal Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr, the regulatory agency recommends using a "certificate" approval process, which could take more time than the simpler "permit" process Manitoba Hydro favours.

The certificate process involves public hearings to weigh the merits of the project, which would then go to the federal cabinet for approval.

The NEB says this process would allow for more procedural flexibility and "address Aboriginal concerns that may arise in the circumstances of…

READ MORE

UK homes can become virtual power plants to avoid outages

READ MORE

Most Energy Will Come From Fossil Fuels, Even In 2040

READ MORE

california-gets-500m-to-upgrade-power-grid

California Gets $500M to Upgrade Power Grid

READ MORE

ottawa hydro

Ottawa sets out to protect its hydro heritage

READ MORE