Ryn Hamilton Consulting offers personalized services to help utilities, grid operators, end users and aggregators develop demand response resources and strategies.
Demand response is a tool used in retail markets by utilities, as well as in wholesale electricity markets administered by ISOs and RTOs, to reduce peak demand, balance the grid, manage congestion, reduce cost and minimize the need to run peaker units. Grid modernization and advanced metering are expanding opportunities for electric customers to participate and earn incentives for reducing usage during certain hours.
FERC has created market rules that put this resource on a basis essentially comparable with generation dispatch. Demand response is competing in capacity and reliability markets with cost for kW reductions that are sometimes lower than the cost of generating that kW. Grid operators, regional planners and utilities are all incorporating demand response into their planning and operations.
Regulators are pushing for greater quantities of this resource. In many states, utilities are expected to participate in forward capacity market auctions and reliability pricing programs, but are not necessarily prepared to respond strategically because of complicated rules that are frequently changing. Participation is not without risk, as there can penalties and opportunity costs for decisions based on incomplete information.
More information: Our Demand Response Consulting Experience.