Demand Response Advisory Committee

Definition of Demand Response:

Demand response is a non-persistent intentional change in net electricity usage by end-use customers from normal consumptive patterns in response to a request on behalf of, or by, a power and/or distribution/transmission system operator. This change is driven by an agreement, potentially financial, or tariff between two or more participating parties.
(updated 8/25/2017)

DRAC Background

One of the key findings from the Seventh Power Plan is the region needs to develop capacity resources to meet its growing demands. One resource identified to meet this capacity need is demand response (DR).The analysis indicates a minimum of 600 MW of additional DR resources would be cost-effective to develop as soon as possible; significantly more than currently developed or planned. However, the region has limited commercial experience with DR and thus there is a general lack of understanding and confidence in how to effectively deploy these resources.

The scope of the DRAC will include:

• Development and implementation of Action Plan items for the Power Plan 
• Defining implementation barriers and developing strategies to overcome them
• Determining near-term and long-term achievability rates
• Understanding the regulatory environment
• Quantifying demand response program costs and savings
• Development of an avoided cost methodology

For the initial period, the DRAC will focus on understanding the barriers to development of demand response in the region and how best to leverage existing infrastructure to expand demand response programs. This will help the region develop a common understanding of demand response and what will be required to implement the Seventh Plan. Upon charter renewal (anticipated summer 2018), the DRAC will likely shift focus to more technical aspects of demand response, leading to supporting the Council in development of the supply curves for the Eighth Power Plan.