In a statement, Hamilton said, “This ruling provides a big step in the elimination of barriers for demand response participation in wholesale markets by requiring wholesale market operators to pay for demand response resources at the market price for energy.”
Hamilton said this is a good start to putting demand response resource on par with other energy resources: “In our view Demand Response is a huge and underutilized resource in our electricity consumption infrastructure. Any end user (or rate payer) that takes advantage of a demand response program typically is also taking a strong look at their overall energy usage. Our experience shows that the simple act of evaluating and monitoring energy usage leads to more efficient consumption. Some of our customers save up to 30 percent of their energy consumption. This is in addition to the benefits of supply and demand load balancing realized by the utilities and grid operators.
“A healthy and open market for demand response is a crucial element to our national energy policy. It will provide a more reliable electrical delivery system and at the same time create a behavior by consumers to better manage their energy usage and reduce their consumption. Demand Response programs create new service jobs for our economy, generate energy savings and cash for end users, and avoid the need for new generation. Many thanks to FERC and Chairman Wellinghoff for continuing to break down the barriers to this important energy management opportunity. There is much more to do, but this ruling should put the industry on a good path.”
Schneider Electric (www.schneider-electric.us)
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC, www.ferc.gov)
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