Monthly Archives: March 2011

Off to Philly

Posted in: C&I Perspective by Blake Young | No Comments Tuesday, March 29, 2011

This week we’re in the City of Brotherly Love, for GlobalCon. (We seem to favor places with nicknames these days…).

Designed to showcase energy solutions, from cutting edge innovations to cost saving opportunities, GlobalCon will address the complicated energy challenges our customers face. With an entire content track devoted to energy management, the conference’s topics include demand response, renewables, energy policy, and best practices in facilities management.

You can find us (and I hope you do) on the exhibition floor, where we’ll have our experts on hand to discuss our demand response solutions. We’ll give details and insights on how DR integrates into the larger picture of intelligent energy management, and how this comprehensive energy platform enables our customers to optimize energy control.

Oh and I should also mention … we’re giving away an iPad at our booth. I wish I could say we’ll have outfitted it with an intelligent energy management app, capable of maximizing your company’s electricity potential with a single screen touch. Alas, our engineers are still at work on that one.

But do come visit us to learn about the real solutions we’ve developed and implemented at our more than 2,000 commercial and industrial customers. We’re helping these companies control their carbon footprint, run more efficiently, and earn more money. We’d welcome the chance to learn about your energy needs and concerns and discuss how our expertise and offerings can provide you with solutions.

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A level playing field for DR

Posted in: Industry View by Blake Young | 4 Comments Wednesday, March 16, 2011

The FERC sent a bold message to the energy industry yesterday, and it was one we were very excited to hear.  By ordering wholesale energy market operators to pay energy market prices for demand response resources, the FERC acknowledged the high value of demand response and empowered DR to reach its full energy conservation potential.

The FERC proposed the decision last year, but by making it official this week, it effectively removed an enormous market barrier to DR’s effectiveness.  Prior to the order, the energy savings, or “negawatts,” generated by demand response programs commanded less compensation than the megawatts created by energy producers. Now, when a net benefits test proves demand response is cost effective, demand response negawatts must also earn the locational marginal price (LMP) normally paid for megawatts.

While my colleagues and I may humbly go so far as to rank negawatts’ value above that of megawatts, we’re certainly thrilled to see the FERC rank them as equals.  I agree with FERC chairman Jon Wellinghoff who said the decision opens the demand response market to innovation while ensuring fair rates for electricity customers.  I’ll go even further and say the new rule stands to have a profoundly positive environmental impact by elevating DR’s presence, consequently reducing the need for power plant operations and electricity generation.

As the organized wholesale market operators implement their new price structures this summer—FERC requires compliance filings by July 22—we’ll be set to deliver the benefits of the new rule to consumers.  Increased compensation for DR products and services means increased revenue to roll back into research and development.  We are ready and willing to spearhead this surge of energy conservation ingenuity that’s surely about to unfold across the industry.

The FERC’s new ruling proves it’s a great time to be in the business of demand side energy management.  We’re happy to be leading the movement and to push this train a lot faster towards its ultimate energy optimization destination.

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The World According to FERC

Posted in: Industry View by Blake Young | No Comments Friday, March 4, 2011

A couple of weeks ago a copy of the FERC’s 2010 Assessment of Demand Response and Advanced Metering report landed on my desk. Anyone familiar with these reports will know they are anything but light reading, but as I have mentioned before, wading through industry reports has become somewhat of occupational hazard.

This report shares the interesting, and promising, results of the commission’s 2009 survey of energy providers. Not surprisingly, it details demand response’s continuing rise to the energy forefront, with the FERC estimating that the total contribution from all U.S. demand response programs to be more than 58,000 megawatts, an increase of 17,000 megawatts from the 2008 survey.

While this level of participation in demand response programs is promising and exciting, there’s definitely room for improvement. In fact, the report shows that all regions of the country can do better: the North American Reliability Corporation’s regional entities in the Midwest used only 13 to 27 percent of their peak load reduction potential, the South called on 34 percent of its capacity and while the West did a bit better, it still only activated 70 percent of its reduction ability.

These findings only reinforce my view that there’s a wide window of opportunity for demand response and broader Intelligent Energy Management programs. The FERC indicates that “commercial and industrial customers combined comprise the highest potential peak load reduction” in all regions except Florida, where residential direct load control programs have the largest impact.

As I have said before, Comverge is poised to help the whole nation realize its potential load reduction through demand response with comprehensive Intelligent Energy Management systems for C&I and residential customers alike. FERC’s survey indicates that planned direct load control programs, set for activation between now and 2015, will rely on advanced metering, critical peak pricing, real-time pricing, and peak-time rebates, all of which happen to be included within our comprehensive portfolio of  Intelligent Energy Management software, hardware and services.

So while this might not have been an enthralling novel, I appreciate a hopeful ending to a story, one that lets me see the promise of tomorrow and Comverge’s role in expanding demand response. Thanks, FERC, for a good read.

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