A New Era of Demand Response

摘要

Demand Response (DR) capability in North America has grown considerably in the past five years, both at utilities and within competitive markets such as PJM. However, DR technologies and policies have generally relegated DR to a minor role as a last-called resource. DR has typically been slower to respond than combustion turbines, and the load relief it provides has been difficult to assess precisely (if at all) in the real-time operating environment in which control center staff operate. Furthermore, regulatory policies in support of DR have generally focused on the magnitude of megawatts achieved at the expense of the quality and usefulness of those megawatts. Slowly, but surely, this is changing.