Demand Response

Demand Response programs can benefit our current energy woes immensely. They give consumers the capability of trimming down our electrical usage at peak hours during the day, during times when electricity prices are high, and also during an emergency so that a blackout does not occur.

Demand in this response method is when you flip on any electrical switch in your home or business, electricity travels in an instant to that hub and gives your appliance energy. Demand response can help to decrease this demand load and apply energy conservation. Brownouts and rolling blackouts happen when electrical grids malfunction or there is a supply-demand component discrepancy. The 2003 NYC blackout alone resulted in $750 million lost in revenue.

The energy industry is looking to demand response as a hopeful applicable fix to infrastructure. The futures is in the automated direct response systems that detect demand loading problems and automatically redirect power inflow in specific areas that gets rids of the chance of overloading or power failure.

Business owners are now seeing demand response as an investment incentive where companies like PG&E allow them to limit their facility’s energy use during peak times in demand. These incentives include peak day pricing and SmartAc applications where business owners save money on energy and also increase their sustainability in accordance to social and ethical responsibility.

Major steps in this direction can make demand response a commonality. The Demand Response and Smart Grid Coalition (DRSG) is the major trade association right now that provides smart meters and smart grid technologies that work hand in hand with demand response programs. DRSG has been educating our policymakers and government associations, as well as getting their information out to the media and financial stakeholders in the market. Associations like this can help to modernize the entire way we use electricity and promote energy conservation to a myriad of consumers.