Several decades ago the term “negawatt” gained notoriety; however, as deregulated markets have developed and with the rise of Demand Response (DR) programs, the concept of reducing energy spend through the deployment of more energy efficient technologies has evolved into something larger. The negawatt concept has expanded from its foundation with the growth in utility and Independent System Operator (ISO) DR programs. Another important, and more recent, development has been the growth of economic price response, which is the ability to add capacity to the grid or shed load when real-time market conditions create financial incentives. The combination of flexible distributed generation, access to real-time price data, and ”structural incentives” in deregulated markets have enabled end-users to profit from these programs andactivities. In ERCOT for example, these incentives include price scarcity mechanisms (Operating Reserve Demand Curve) and system-wide offer caps that will increase to $9,000/MWh on June 1, 2015. Aside from generating revenues for end-users, these measures will contribute to improve balance between supply and demand, and support overall grid reliability.
The Negawatts Evolution: The Maturation of Demand Response
Posted by Jennifer Chang on Dec 9, 2013 12:06:00 PM
Topics: Negawatt, ERCOT, energy risk management, Acclaim Energy Advisors, energy management consulting, energy, Energy Solutions, energy procurement, demand response, energy regulations, energy savings, energy costs, Weekly Energy Insights, energy management, dynamic load optimization 365, DLO 365, curtailment
