Multi-Party Project Issues Report on Evolution of Demand Response in a DER Context

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Jan 20, 2016, 02:19 ET

WASHINGTON, Jan. 20, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A Report on the outcome of a months-long multi-party dialogue project focused on the future of Demand Response (DR) was released in Washington today by Wedgemere Group, the project facilitator. The project, called the Evolution of DR Dialogue Project (EDP), involved a diverse group of utilities, policymakers, DR providers, stakeholders and other parties working over the course of 2015 in a sequential, facilitated discussion of the issues, challenges and opportunities facing DR today and how DR can and should evolve in the future. The dialogue participants were successful in reaching consensus on many different issues and developing recommendations for policymakers, utilities, and demand response companies.

The diversity of the EDP participants meant that not everyone came to the project with the same positions and views, said Dan Delurey of Wedgemere Group, organizer and facilitator of the effort. "But everyone adhered to the goal of talking openly, learning from each other, and creating output that would help others in their understanding of DR issues and help guide discussions that are taking place around the country on the future of DR."

"Among the key outcomes of the project was a consensus that DR needed to be seen as being a DER (Distributed Energy Resource) option," said Delurey. "With deployment of DER expected to be a major component of the future electricity system, the EDP participants agreed that the idea of DR as a DER needs to be included in DER policymaking and business activities." Among the areas taken up during the dialogue were the following:

Understanding and addressing the "duality" of DR
Addressing the "visibility" needs of system operators and others with respect to DR/DER
Optimizing development of rates and prices
Measurement and Verification changes for DR
Ensuring consistency and coordination between state and regional DR programs, and in the development of Distribution-level DR/DER level platforms

The Report is organized according to issue areas and for each one there is a list of expectations as to developments that will unfold, challenges that must be addressed, and recommendations for action steps to be taken.

The Report, titled "The Road Ahead for Demand Response" is available at www.wedgemere.com.

SOURCE Wedgemere Group