Peak Load Management Alliance

1818 Country Creek Court, Magnolia, TX  77354

Phone (936) 271-5020, fax (936) 271-5060, e-mail eboardman@peaklma.com

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                           Contact: Elliot Boardman

April 28, 2009                                                               Phone (936) 271-5020

                                                                                    eboardman@peaklma.com

Magnolia, TX - PLMA News Bulletin

 

   PLMA ANNOUNCES 2008 DEMAND RESPONSE AWARDS WINNERS

 

The Peak Load Management Alliance (PLMA) today announced the winners of their 2008 Demand Response Annual Awards.  The presentations of the Awards were made at the PLMA Annual Awards Luncheon during the PLMA Spring Conference, “Demand Response: Paving the Way for the New Energy Alternatives,” in Annapolis, Maryland, April 28-30, 2009.

 

With an electric industry that continues to experience a period of significant uncertainty due to major changes related to major investment needs to upgrade aging grid infrastructures, AMI and renewable resources, PLMA was formed as an alliance of organizations of suppliers of electricity, load shedding systems manufacturers, consultants, research groups and trade associations to promote the concepts and technologies of reducing demand for electricity in response to pricing signals in the marketplace.

 

“There are a wealth of innovative and creative load reduction programs and studies being operated this year,” remarked Elliot Boardman, Executive Director of PLMA.  “These awards are a way for PLMA to recognize and highlight the best programs.”

 

The Award Winners are identified below, followed by a description of their Demand Response (DR) efforts and why they were chosen for the award.

Outstanding Achievement by a Commercial End-User Award – Target Corporation

Target Corporation has received this award for their proactive participation in a variety of demand response programs throughout the country.  Target’s objective was to create a demand response program that would enable the company to register a statistically significant number of stores in each major demand response market.  Based on the results of the pilot, they would then determine whether their participation in demand response could be stepped up to a significantly larger scale.  As of June 1, 2008, Target was positioned to shed over 13 megawatts of load among 12 utilities at 116 stores.  Their plans for 2009 include increasing the DR capability to several hundred stores in all major markets in the United States with over 35 megawatts of peak load reduction capacity.  They have centralized their DR program operations to one central location at the company’s Commissioning Department.  This centralization effort has allowed the company to participate in every test or actual event within the required notification period – in some cases with as little as 10 minutes notification.

Target participates in DR programs in PJM, New York, New England and California.  Target is one of the first broadline retailers to participate in demand response and prove that it can be highly successful in the retail in industry and not impact the customer experience.  Target deserves special recognition for their participation and continued dedication to being a valued resource in DR markets across the United States. 

 

Innovative Application of Technology Award – Cass County Electric Cooperative

Cass County Electric Cooperative, based in Fargo North Dakota, founded its load management program in 1976 in response to the oil embargo.  In 2003, Cass County developed the Incremental Pricing Plan (IPP) which has three time zones that correlate to system conditions.  Customers are notified of the Green, Yellow or Red zone through an LED traffic light that is wired directly at each customer location.  For the majority of the year, the customer is in the green zone, and receives an off-peak energy rate.  During a critical peak period, the red zone, the customer either curtails their electrical loads or they pay a high coincident demand charge.  The yellow zone peak conditions are symbolized by a yellow light, in which load management is not required, however higher energy prices are invoked.  Customers can either elect to reduce their demands, initiate backup power systems, or pay the higher price. 

The IPP program has allowed commercial, industrial, and agricultural customers much lower operating costs by minimizing their loads during on-peak periods.  By adding the middle “yellow” zone, the IPP program offers flexibility for customers to manage their loads and power costs and the result is a very popular program among these customer groups.   The IPP program has 684 customers and serves a total of 3,048 accounts. 

The IPP program serves as an excellent example of how an electric cooperative has utilized a fairly straight forward technological solution to implement an innovative application of demand response program. 

Outstanding Integrated EE/DR Award – City of Ames Iowa Electric Services

PLMA is pleased to announce that the City of Ames Electric Services has received an award for its efforts to integrate energy efficiency and demand response program efforts.  Smart Energy is a demand-side management initiative that has four distinct approaches for immediate and long-term demand reduction – education, green energy development, energy efficiency and demand response.

Smart Energy offers the following set of programs that provide energy management assistance:

·          Power Watch: An energy education and call to action program.

·          Green Choices: An incentive program that promotes the installation of customer-based renewable energy resources.

·          Prime Time Power: A direct load control program targeting remote shutoffs of central air conditioners during summer peak periods in exchange for a monthly incentive.

·          Equipment Rebates: A program that helps residential and business customers install various energy efficiency measures including air conditioners, heat pumps, lighting, and appliances.

·          New Construction Rebates: A rebate available for anyone building a new home according to ENERGY STAR®  specifications.

·          Energy Audits: An energy audit to help residential and business customers understand their current levels of efficiency and how they can improve it.

·          Custom Rebates: A rebate for any change resulting in the saving of electric energy and reducing electric demand.

The City of Ames has tapped into increased customer interest in energy conservation and the connection between energy efficiency and demand response.  The goal of the utility is to inform, educate, and help citizens develop good energy habits aimed at conserving energy at a time that is most appropriate and advantageous to the utility system, particularly during peak periods. 

The City has received this award because of their visionary approach to developing and implementing an integrated approach to energy efficiency and demand response programs.

 

Outstanding Outreach Award – Baltimore Gas and Electric Company

PLMA is pleased to announce that Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE) has received an award for its outstanding outreach efforts in connection with the PeakRewardsSM program.  The program engages BGE residential customer to be part of a solution to: strengthen electric system reliability, keep wholesale energy and capacity prices lower than they otherwise would be, reduce the need for new power plants and T&D infrastructure.  Through direct load control of air conditioners, PeakRewards reduces energy demand during peak periods throughout the summer.  It also gives customers tools for management their electric bill. 

PeakRewards launched in May 2008 and, as of December 2008, over 60,000 customers have enrolled in the program.  BGE expects to complete its enrollment process at participation levels that far exceed the above-referenced number of customers.  Participating customers are offered a choice of having a Smart Switch installed on their central air conditioner units or a Smart Thermostat that allows for automated temperature control.  In 2009, BGE plans to launch enhancements to this program which will include the addition of a residential water heater program (targeting about 45 MW of peak load reduction during the summer and about 170 MW of peak load reduction during the winter), a pool pump pilot, and a substation feeder pilot.  Customers are paid significant incentives for their participation in the program (up to $200 in the first year of participation).   

BGE has instituted an innovative enrollment process that offers customers a variety of choices to participate in the program including: signing up via the web, via the PeakRewards hotline, through business reply cards in direct mail pieces, and by completing enrollment cards at community events.  It is clear that these approaches have led to a significant level of program participation as BGE embarks on the 2009 DR season.

Outstanding Sustainable Program Award – Interstate Power and Light Company

PLMA is pleased to announce that Interstate Power and Light Company (IPL) has received the Outstanding Sustainable Program Award for 2008 for its efforts in administering the Appliance Cycling program.  The program targets residential customers through the IPL service territory based on a temperature trigger defined for n three zones within the IPL service territory (Burlington, Cedar Rapids, and Mason City).  IPL has a capability to cycle approximately between 27 to 30 MW for a full 6-hour curtailment period, which current participation levels at nearly 47,000 customers.

IPL has focused on ensuring the long-term viability of this program by implementing a maintenance plan that imposes regular checks of control switches and replaces any faulty equipment.  This has led to a higher level of reliability during event periods.  By replacing non-functioning switches IPL is able to increase the load control potential for the program. 

Outstanding Curtailment Service Provider Award – EnergyConnect

EnergyConnect Inc. has received an award for the outstanding efforts related to its FlexConnectTM program, a voluntary demand response program that pays customers for temporary load reduction when wholesale electricity prices are high.  FlexConnect provides a platform for users to make informed decisions on the best times to engage in demand response.  Users can choose to dig into market details and be very hands-on or let the system automatically identify load shifting opportunities for them.

Access to FlexConnect is through a secure web portal giving each customer instant visibility of demand response opportunities in context with critical information about their electricity use patterns.  FlexConnect offers a wide range of choices and most flexibility for customers to participate in demand response programs.  FlexConnect makes it easy for customers to voluntarily engage in demand response without having to wait for an event call or an emergency.  Many customers do not want to be on the hook for a mandatory curtailment and prefer to have choices of when to opt-in or opt-out.  FlexConnect connects customers with more voluntary DR opportunities and any other program or platform.  In 2008, over 50% of all economic DR transactions settled in the PJM service footprint were through FlexConnect.

 

For further information, contact Elliot Boardman at (936) 271-5020 or eboardman@peaklma.com.

 

 

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