Demand for electric energy continues to increase, but additional generation capacity and the infrastructure to deliver power has not kept pace. The potential for grid failure has increased for those times when electric demand is highest. One of the most effective ways to address this issue is to ask consumers to reduce their electric demand. This has led to programs offered by and through ISO New England and ISO New York, in some cases with state support, to pay users to curtail electric loads in an emergency.
DemandDirect is authorized to administer these programs in the entire ISO-NE and ISO-NY regions.
Customers enrolled in the program are paid a monthly or quarterly dollar amount per kilowatt based upon the amount of the load they commit to curtail during an emergency. This amount is paid regardless of whether a grid emergency event is actually declared by system operator. Customers curtail load by either operating an on-site backup generator or lowering their usage by reducing or shutting off specific equipment or building systems.
Customers are paid additional "energy" payments should an event be called. This is based upon the amount of load actually reduced during the event. This payment will generally more than compensate the customer for the fuel used to run a backup generator or other costs incurred responding to the event.
There are no up-front or out-of-pocket costs to the customer. DemandDirect manages the entire process from initial assessment of curtailable load, through deployment of specific communications and load monitoring systems and payments to the customer. The installation and maintenance of these systems is entirely DemandDirect's responsibility.
There is no financial penalty or charge of any kind if circumstances prevent the customer from responding or only responding partially to an event. Should a partial response occur, payment is based upon the actual load reduction.
No monthly monitoring fees or data costs are charged.
An agreement is executed between the customer and DemandDirect to govern participation in the program. The length of the contract varies with the state and the region but is always a one-year minimum.
