Demand Response

Demand response company EnerNOC has reported its first profitable quarter as a public company and yet another record quarter. Revenues in the third quarter of 2009 were $103.1 million, a 134% increase over earnings during the same period in 2008.

“We believe we have reached an inflection point in our business. By nearly doubling our megawatts under management over the past year and continuing to drive

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has released its discussion draft report on possible components of its demand response national action plan and scheduled a technical conference to discuss it for Nov. 19-20 in Washington, D.C.

However, anyone interested in addressing the conference will need to move fast. Those interested in speaking must fill out an online form describing what they intend to address by

Although grid reliability is still the number one driver of Smart Grid expenditures, demand response and peak shaving are rising as motivators, according to the recent Pacific Crest Mosaic Smart Grid Survey. One-half of utilities rate reliability improvements as number one, and demand response and peak shaving are close behind as important drivers for Smart Grid projects. Fifteen percent of utilities view policymaker mandates and labor savings as drivers.

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Viridity Energy, a virtual power generation company, has joined forces with a broad range of entities that have filed applications for Recovery Act stimulus funds to help finance major projects.

The one-year-old company has signed on to work on Smart Grid demonstration projects with Con Edison, the state of New Mexico, PECO Energy Company, San Diego Gas and Electric, the University of California, Drexel and

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has postponed two conferences on its National Action Plan for Demand Response. The conferences had been scheduled to take place Oct. 22 in Washington, D.C., and Oct. 27 in Portland, OR, and were intended to obtain further input from interested stakeholders on possible components of the plan.

FERC’s Barbara Connors told Smart Grid News that the conferences were postponed

Can distribution utilities use a mixture of demand response (DR) and distributed generation (DG) to defer construction and manage peak loads? Must those approaches be applied system wide? Or can they be put to work for individual substations on an as-needed basis? An ongoing GridWise™ demonstration project suggests utilities can mix and match DR and DG.

Distribution utilities face the problem of meeting peak loads in an era where it is increasingly… Continue reading

Denis Du Bois authors Energy Priorites, a popular blog about energy technology. He recently published a case study of BPA’s ongoing demand response (DR) pilot in Ashland, OR. We wanted you to see it for two important reasons. First, it provides useful information about DR’s potential to forestall the need for new plants and lines. Second, it was written for a lay audience. Many of SGN’s utility readers may soon have the need to explain DR to their own customers. Follow the link at the end to Denis’s site and look at his use of… Continue reading

A California-based project has reached an important milestone towards its ambitious goal of a demand response (DR) infrastructure that is “10 times more functional at 1/10th the cost.” If successful, it could transform DR in California. And, eventually, around the country.

The urgent need for DR

The 2006 summer heat wave pushed many utilities and system operators to the breaking point. The California Independent System Operator (CAISO) declared two Stage 1 and

NERC warns of big problems, suggests solutions. In its new 10-year forecast, the North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC) warns the U.S. and Canada of problems ahead. Demand is forecasted to increase by 19% in the U.S. and 13% in Canada, but supply by only 6% in the US and 9% in Canada. NERC says North America urgently needs new generation, new transmission projects and more demand response. The report identified Texas, New England, the Mid-Atlantic, the Mid-West and the Rocky Mountain area as regions likely to