Common Misconceptions of Demand Response

Demand Response (DR) is a highly tailored offering that enhances energy reliability and helps customers reduce their electricity usage during peak usage times or when the grid is almost at capacity. DR works in three simple steps:

1. When extreme weather or emergency conditions lead to a stressed grid and/or energy shortage, the grid operator or utility companies alerts the need for emergency demand response.
2. Customers with demand response plans reduce their energy consumption during these peak times, thus reducing the electricity demand.
3. Users who activate their demand response plans are paid for the energy they curtailed during the peak time.

Since DR is such a customized solution, there are many misconceptions surrounding its functionality. Here are some of the most common ones we run into:

I have nothing to be curtailed.

This is perhaps the most common misconception our experts face in the field. Companies often think they have already done everything they could to minimize energy usage, but our experts almost always find other innovative ways in which they can reduce. Whether it’s by unplugging non-essential equipment or powering down unneeded lights in storage rooms, for example, our team can almost always find ways to reduce your energy consumption and enhance its cost-effectiveness.

Participation in DR events means that customers must take action, which can often be time-consuming, difficult, and manual.

DR uses the most current technology to lower energy usage during power surges in the market. This means you can program devices and systems for optimal performance, so they use less energy. With these technologies, there is virtually no disruption or risk to business operations. No one has to walk around the office and turn off lights or monitor and adjust the HVAC. Instead, those systems are automated for energy efficiency, so you don’t have to worry about them. At the end of the day, you save energy and get paid for doing so. 

I have higher priority energy projects going on.

Think of DR as a solution, rather than a product itself. As a solution, it can be integrated into any electricity infrastructure or platform you have in place. The process is easy and seamless, so whether your energy projects are small in nature or scale up to an enterprise level, our experts can integrate a DR solution into your business that helps you reduce cost and electricity consumption when the grid is stressed or there is high energy demand.

The energy company will manage the customer’s energy for them.

NRG can manage the customer’s energy as part of their strategy, but only if the customer wants them to. There is no requirement for that condition, but NRG can certainly do it if it’s desired. That being said, customers often rely on  NRG to review their electricity usage and consumption. NRG offers real-time monitoring that customers can watch before, during, or after the event.

Our dedicated team of experts ultimately separates NRG’s Demand Response offering from others. In addition to being experts in the energy industry and working with customers, they are also creative thinkers at heart. They find things that other companies wouldn’t. They approach each customer’s DR plan with a creative state of mind. Whether you work in healthcare and need to keep life-dependent equipment powered on or if you work in manufacturing and need logistical processes to stay online so your company stays profitable, NRG can help you turn your electricity usage into revenue through an effective, economic Demand Response program.