Vendors Demonstrate Open Automated Demand Response at UIC2010 Conference

LAFAYETTE, Calif., Nov. 4, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- A group of demand response (DR) technology vendors demonstrated an end-to-end integration of their demand response technologies using emerging interoperability standards at the 6th annual Utility Integration Conference (UIC2010) in Philadelphia, November 2-3, 2010. UIC is an annual industry technical forum for utility professionals.

The group successfully demonstrated automation of demand response from wholesale DR markets and utilities to customers deploying best- of-breed DR technologies from leading technology vendors.  

A key feature of the demonstration was the use of the Open Automated Demand Response (OpenADR) protocol to "plug-and-play" different technologies.  The live demonstration was led by Utility Integration Solutions, Inc. (UISOL) from its Demand Response Integration Lab (DRIL).  OpenADR defines a communications interface protocol that allows utilities to automate management of end-use energy loads or demand response. 

Participants demonstrated the use of OpenADR for real-time price communication between PJM Interconnection markets and in-home DR devices from multiple technology providers. PJM is currently testing this end-to-end integration in a Price Responsive Demand (PRD) Pilot.  

End-to-end integration and automation of DR communication and business processes, sometimes referred to as automated DR or AutoDR, can eliminate the costly manual steps in managing DR.  It is also essential to providing "fast DR" services such as synchronous reserve and frequency regulation.  A growing number of utilities are now exploring the potential of AutoDR to balance the increasing levels of intermittent wind and solar power generation.  

An end-to-end integration of a demand response business network was demonstrated in California in 2006 under a state sponsored R&D project that involved California ISO and three investor owned utilities.  Enabling technologies from this effort, including UISOL's DRBizNet demand response management system (DRMS) and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's OpenADR communication protocol, were showcased at the California ISO DR Lab in 2008.

The demonstration this week at the UIC2010 conference on the integration of distributed energy resources took AutoDR to the next level.   It successfully demonstrated standards-based integration of DR technologies from competing vendors that can allow utilities to implement best-of-breed AutoDR technologies using the OpenADR protocol.   UISOL's latest version of its DRBizNet demand response management system (DRMS) , deployed in production at PJM Interconnection, California ISO, and Midwest ISO, was used for the demonstration along with an open source OpenADR toolkit jointly developed by UISOL and  Berkeley Labs.

"Open standards are the key to the success of demand response and smart grid. This week's demonstration showed the power of OpenADR and the utility industry's ability to implement processes with commercially proven standards that accelerate adoption and lower deployment costs for all utility industry stakeholders," said Mary Ann Piette, research director for the Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) Demand Response Research Center (DRRC) at Berkeley Labs.

"I am very pleased that a growing number of organizations are joining us voluntarily to make DR cheaper, faster, and more reliable," said Ali Vojdani, CEO of UISOL.

Participation in DRIL is open to all organizations in the utility industry. Current participants include Alektrona Corporation, Alstom, Global Energy Partners, LLC, PJM, Powerit Solutions, Inc., Progress Software Corporation, Tendril, TIBCO Software, Inc., UISOL, and Universal Devices Inc.   Participants use an OpenADR server to voluntarily integrate and test their interoperability within the demand response business network.  Companies interested in voluntary participation in DRIL can contact Dr. Scott Coe of UISOL at [email protected].

About UISOL

Utility Integration Solutions, Inc. (www.UISOL.com) is the systems integration specialist of the utility industry and the leading provider of demand response management systems (DRMS). UISOL offers a broad range of integration services and software solutions to help its utility clients transform their business performance through the power of smart integration for demand response, smart grid, advanced metering, meter data management, market operations and more. The company's wholly owned subsidiary, UISOL Software, LLC, offers the utility industry's leading software platform, DRBizNet, for demand response management. Visit www.uisol.com or call 925-939-0449.

SOURCE Utility Integration Solutions, Inc.