The Need and Opportunity to Enable Flexible Demand Response in the U.S.
Utilities have used demand response (DR) for decades to curb power use at times of peak demand. But evolving regulatory, technological and market drivers towards decarbonization are converging so that utilities are taking a fresh look at their demand response programs to provide a new level of grid flexibility.
While demand response programs have evolved in recent years from one-way load control programs, the emergence of the internet of things (IoT) and sophisticated software control platforms has created new opportunities to harness and aggregate DR resources in ways unavailable less than a decade ago.
In this minibrief, Centrica Business Solutions explores the shifting technological and policy factors impacting demand response in the United States.
