Tackling Demand Response Head-On

When considering the adoption of demand response solutions, businesses may hold some misconceptions about how demand response can be deployed. Some worries might be inconvenient downtimes or not understanding the pricing structure, or simply concern around how demand response works. But in reality, there are many benefits to leveraging demand response. When implemented strategically with the help of a qualified partner like NRG, demand response programs keep bills down and boost business resilience. Here’s a look at how demand response could benefit your company:

Demand response programs are electricity tariff plans that enable energy customers to reduce or switch electricity use during peak periods, usually in return for a financial reward. In more simplified language, businesses get money back for reducing power use in small, simple ways. For utilities and grid operators, demand response balances supply and demand, protecting the electric grid from outages and ensuring the grid stays online.

There are a number of different types of incentives that are offered to customers who participate in these programs. They include time-of-use pricing models (customers pay different prices at different times of day), and critical peak pricing plans (customers are incentivized to reduce consumption or switch usage to off-peak hours during event days). 

Demand response programs reduce stress on the grid, the environment, and your bottom-line. By shifting or lowering electricity use at peak times, you can avoid higher energy prices and even generate additional revenue with the financial incentives you receive for program participation. Furthermore, demand response can afford your business greater energy security. Power outages can incur big costs, such as equipment damage or spoiled products, and these events are mitigated when more and more users participate in demand response programs. Demand response protects the grid from stress by scaling back power consumption when demand is too high—saving customers money and reducing the risk of blackouts. It’s a small act that creates a big impact across the larger electricity community.

Plus, demand response programs can be easily adopted by businesses of all types. The typical processes that are turned down or switched off during participation include lighting, hot water heating, computer or other non-essential equipment. Participation in a demand response program shouldn’t impact day-to-day business operations or comfort.

If there’s any degree of flexibility in your company’s energy use, then demand response could be a great fit. Here are a few questions to consider, and if the answer to one or more is a “yes,” then it’s worth learning more about demand response options in your area.

• Do you have large energy loads that could be reduced? 
• Do you operate any non-essential equipment, such as decorative fountains or lights in unused areas?
• Could you change the temperature or lighting without disruption to your business? 
• Do you have backup power generation systems that could be used for a few hours?
• Could you shift some processes to different times of the day?
• Do you have building automation systems that could help implement a demand response plan?
• How valuable could demand response payments and lower energy bills be to your bottom-line? 

Demand response offers businesses the chance to think strategically about their energy use and set sustainability goals, all while receiving financial bonuses for keeping the grid stress-free. And as our collective electric community grows, meaningful ways to scale back on energy consumption will become a responsibility we can all share in.