DR Program Support

Demand response (DR) programs are a powerful tool for regulators, utilities, and grid operators as a means of improving system reliability and reducing capital expenditures for new infrastructure. Yet the success of demand response programs depends not on their conceptual validity, but rather on how well the actual programs are designed and positioned in the marketplace for customers and other stakeholders.

Nexant is uniquely qualified in the DR industry with demonstrable experience in designing, marketing, implementing, and evaluating DR programs for utilities, independent system operators (ISOs), and regional transmission organizations (RTOs), as well as working directly with commercial and industrial customers on practical applications. We understand the application, operation, performance, and limitations of DR technologies, and how proper program design and marketing can augment the market penetration of DR-enabling technologies.

Our DR program experience includes the design, analysis, and implementation of the following DR elements:

• Curtailment, cycling, and thermostatic-control-based programs targeting a variety of end uses
• AutoDR through the use of internet-based communications that interface with building control systems and send curtailment signals to automatically reduce peak demand through on/off, cycling, or dimming commands
• The use of aggregated commercial and industrial curtailable loads to (1) achieve a greater overall MW reduction goal; (2) reduce the individual participant's risk; (3) improve the reliability of the DR resource; (4) increase the financial opportunities for the participants; and (5) provide superior event transparency and data tracking
• Capacity-based programs that solicit performance contract bids from aggregators and other third-parties to provide demand reductions
• Utility rate programs, including critical-peak pricing, interruptible, and load curtailment tariffs
• Online and day-ahead bidding for buying/selling peak load reductions
• Pilot DR programs for utilities looking to test the market and gain experience with their customers in providing load relief
• Development of program designs that satisfy customer expectations for minimally invasive and cost-effective operation as well as utility and ISO capacity goals
• Distributed generation and cogeneration

In addition to providing DR program support, Nexant is a thought leader that has helped to expand DR understanding and capabilities across the industry by:

• Enhancing the development of DR programs that will achieve U.S. DOE's policy goals by conducting a scoping study to elicit business owners' views of the features of customer-friendly DR programs
• Performing a peak load management assessment of a multi-state utility system to identify strategies for managing customer demand during periods of peak demand and high wholesale energy prices
• Strengthening the information technology infrastructure to support demand response in California by co-designing a high-level architecture for a DR business network (known as DRBNet) and a roadmap for construction of the network