ATLANTA – Demand response programs require customers to take action, so programs must be offered with customers in mind. They must meet the criteria of a good product – provide value and be easy for the customer to implement, according to Chartwell’s latest report, Utility Load Management and Demand Response Programs.
The United States, which currently has 800 gigawatts of capacity, will need another 300 gigawatts of new capacity in 20 years. Demand response has the potential to reduce U.S. peak demand by 45,000 MW by 2010 and 90,000 MW by 2030, according to EPRI.
Because of variations in how companies and facilities are run, demand response programs must be tailored to fit various needs; one-size-fits-all programs will not work. Pacific Gas & Electric, for example, has several different programs. Each one attracts a different group of customers, but no single program is attractive to a wide variety of customers. The programs most recently launched at PG&E incorporate market pricing and temperature. PG&E, Great River Energy, and nine other utility programs are examined for in-depth case studies in Utility Load Management and Demand Response Programs. The report also includes profiles of 13 vendors that serve utilities in this arena.
Utilities’ mass-market load management efforts are growing. Data from a March 2003 Chartwell survey of 86 utilities regarding the products and services they offer residential customers reveals that 17% of utilities that added a new product or service during 2002 added an energy-efficiency related program. Based on year-to-year data from the annual survey, these programs now are less likely to be an energy-saving device and are more likely to be load management-related. Of 21 respondents who mentioned selling "energy-efficiency devices," five of them – 24% – are offering load management switches.
The 99-page report, available from Chartwell for $495, is part of The Chartwell Utility Marketing Research Series, an ongoing information service that provides utility case studies; topical analysis and research centered around specific products or services in the utility and energy services marketplace; and a database of 86 utilities and the products and services they offer or are planning to offer.
For more information about the ongoing Research Series, the Report on Utility Load Management and Demand Response Programs, or the products/services database, please call (800) 432-5879, or (404) 237-9099.
