Peak Response Program: 2018-2019 Demand Response Capability Initiative
The primary objective of the R&D pilot was to test the extent to which a single, medium-sized customer could shed and shift load during the summer peak season. The objective of Defeat the Peak is to lower utility expenses by reducing transmission costs during periods of congestion on the regional power system (i.e., “Peak periods”).
In Vermont, a state with a baseload supply of electricity that comes from mostly clean sources, buying additional supply at peak means purchasing from less-clean fuel sources and at higher prices.
Efficiency Vermont anticipated that it would likely learn several important lessons from the pilot. Efficiency Vermont hoped that any lessons learned could enhance BED’s Defeat the Peak program and result in a subsequent Efficiency Vermont offering for the state’s other utilities and large customers. This aspiration is based on the recognition that effective delivery of energy supply and effective delivery of energy efficiency services each has its own time and locational value—and that demand response programs can provide great additional value to ratepayers and utility programs alike.