CPower Policy Experts Release Demand Response Framework for Midwestern Stakeholders to Enable Energy Transition

Midwest Stakeholders Can Address the Need for Energy Flexibility and Reliability Solutions While Managing State and Local Regulatory Considerations

BALTIMORE, Dec. 9, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- CPower Energy ("CPower"), the national leader in unlocking the value of customer Distributed Energy Resources (DERs), has released a new whitepaper authored by its policy experts for state regulators and municipal and cooperative utilities across the Midwest to provide a framework to help drive the development of demand response (DR) in the region.

Faced with tightening reserve margins and the need to lower energy costs, many stakeholders in the Midwest are looking for ways to meet resource adequacy requirements and stabilize the grid. Through DR solutions, DERs can augment traditional supply-driven grids powered by utilities and grid operators. For years, however, state commissions across the Midwest have been uncertain about their ability to regulate Aggregators of Retail Customers (ARCs), organizations that aggregate customer DERs and manage their participation in grid services programs, along with the necessary parameters for ARCs to operate in tandem with utility resource planning activities, all while ensuring that costs are not unfairly shifted to ratepayers. 

"With the current economic cycle, there has never been a better time for Midwestern states to seize on opportunities to leverage innovative technologies that can create new revenue streams for customers and enable grid flexibility and reliability. Millions of people stand to benefit from the full utilization of customer load flexibility to ensure the resiliencies of our communities," said Peter Dotson-Westphalen, Senior Director – Market Development and Regulatory Affairs, CPower.

"Our goal is to educate key stakeholders in MISO that energy flexibility is very much a real solution that can help meet their requirements today and well into the future. It will also help diversify our energy mix by paving the way for integrating cleaner DERs into the grid," added Ken Schisler, Senior Vice President – Regulatory Affairs, CPower.

CPower is steeped in the critical operational, financial, and sustainability challenges that commercial and industrial energy users face as they work to become more resourceful through their DER strategies. CPower has extensive experience in designing and implementing grid flexibility and reliability solutions, with 6.3 GW of DER capacity at more than 17,000 sites across the country. CPower has further expanded its footprint in MISO this year, announcing new solutions across Illinois and Michigan.

Regulators and utility stakeholders can access the new framework here:

https://cpowerenergymanagement.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Midwest-DR-Framework.pdf

CPower Energy is the national leader of grid balancing and reliability solutions, creating a Customer-Powered Grid™ that will enable a flexible, clean and dependable energy future. With 6.3 GW of capacity at more than 17,000 sites across the U.S., we unlock the full value of distributed energy resources to strengthen the grid when and where it's needed most. CPower is based in Baltimore, Maryland and is owned by LS Power, a development, investment, and operating company focused on the power and energy infrastructure sector. For more information, visit: www.cpowerenergymanagement.com.

SOURCE CPower Energy Management