Are your customers equipped for demand response?
Existing controls could make businesses great candidates for new program
Now that BC Hydro's senior program manager, capacity projects, Steve Cao has the green light for a demand response program for BC Hydro's large business customers, he'd like you to consider which of your customers might be a good fit for the program.
And the easiest entry point is for businesses who already have lighting, thermostat and other controls that make it easy to schedule for power savings at specific times.
"We're looking for customers who have inherent flexibilities in their operations," says Cao. "Ideally, they don't have to invest in new equipment or new control systems to participate. And I think that there are quite a number of businesses that already have these control systems in place."
Customers on BC Hydro's large general service rate (LGS) are eligible to take part in a program that offers financial rewards for shifting electricity use during periods of peak demand on our system. Reducing peaks on our system can make our electrical grid operate more efficiently and reduce the need for costly new infrastructure.
Demand response events are short periods of high demand on our system – lasting no more than four hours each. If customers reduce their electricity use by at least 5% during a demand response event, they'll earn a financial reward. They can earn $50 per average kW demand reduction over the course of the season's events.
Cao says that while basic controls can make demand response work for businesses, those with more sophisticated automation systems – including pre-programming at different set points – have even more potential.
"Also, customers who have flexibility in their processes, where they may choose to delay a process until a later time, could be a great fit," he says. "And we're not asking for much, just a 5% reduction in their average load."
Companies that already have experience with demand response through operations in other areas of the country or beyond may be a great fit for the program. Some may already have related controls in place, and processes set up to deal with trimming load at peak times. Others may benefit from the assistance of Alliance members in setting up their controls systems to work with the demand response program.
Most 'events' would be in winter, but summer peaks happen too
Because BC Hydro's demand peaks generally happen in the winter when electricity use increases with the dark and cold, demand response events are limited to winter season (October 1 to April 30). But with air conditioning on the rise in B.C., the program includes both winter and year-round program options for customers in Campbell Heights (Surrey/Langley), Abbotsford, Westbank, Coquitlam, and Port Coquitlam.
There's no set schedule to events, which are dictated by changing conditions on the BC Hydro grid. But there could be up to 20 events per winter or summer season, with customers notified at least 12 hours before each event.