Demand Response: Changes in electric usage by end-use customers from their normal consumption patterns in response to changes in the price of electricity over time, or to incentive payments designed to induce lower electricity use at times of high wholesale market prices or when system reliability is jeopardized…..Two important new developments at the wholesale level are the inclusion of demand resources in forward capacity markets and ancillary services markets at RTOs and ISOs and the development of new reliability-based demand-response programs.
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Staff Report September 2007
The Urgency of Demand Response
In recent years, utilities and regulators across the United States have fundamentally re-examined the role of integrated demand response (DR) programs. Market incentives and reliability imperatives have created a wave of new capital investment and technology advancement in support of these new demand response market dynamics.
For more than a decade, UISOL and its principals have worked in the research and development of ways to unlock the tremendous potential value available to market operators, utilities, end customers and society at large from the proactive and integrated implementation of demand response programs.
UISOL’s recent efforts in this area culminated in the development and successful California collaborative field simulation of the Demand Response Business Network (DRBizNet™) in 2006, and the implementation of DRBizNet for PJM Interconnection, LLC that is currently in progress.
UISOL DRBizNet Software
UISOL DRBizNet software enables market operators and utilities to efficiently,reliably and securely manage DR processes end-to-end by:
• Defining and managing custom DR programs for any market
• Managing customer signup and program registration processes
• Gaining real-time visibility of available DR resources and interruptible demand
• Automatically notifying customers, aggregators, and distribution/grid operators
• Automatically triggering any type of intelligent load control devices over any network
• Tracking event participation and actual demand reduction for settlement
• Seamlessly interfacing with other corporate applications
DRBizNet is the result of a decade of R&D in developing the next generation of DR infrastructure that is flexible, reliable, scalable, and based on open standards. It is built on proven foundation of enterprise software deployed in Fortune 50 companies. DRBizNet differentiating features include:
- Embedded message bus and business process engine
- Dramatically reduces cost of making DR process changes through graphical editors, integrated rules engines, configurable interfaces, and rapid prototyping tools
- Electronic DR workflow management with powerful features such as portal inboxes, deadline monitoring, escalation, substitution, and e-mail notifications
- DR process optimization tools such as metrics/management dashboards, simulation & forecasting, bottleneck detection, and what if analysis
- Configurable, standards-based interfaces with customer systems
- Secure, real-time communications with DR participants and resources through Intelligent Agents and open, CIM-based message models• Provides a complete DR transaction log, process visibility, and audit trail
In 2006 UISOL successfully demonstrated DRBizNet in California during a field simulation project funded by the California Energy Commission (CEC) and managed by the California Institute for Energy Efficiency (CIEE). California DR market participants who took part in the project included the California ISO, Pacific Gas and Electric, San Diego Gas and Electric, Southern California Edison, and a several representative commercial and residential customers and DR service providers.
UISOL is currently expanding and customizing DRBizNet for PJM Interconnection. It will replace PJM’s existing LoadManagement application; enhancing PJM’s leadership position in demand side response.
Building a DR eCommunity
DRBizNet can be deployed as a single software application to provide the functionality of a DR Exchange, or as a highly automated and flexible network of collaborative applications and intelligent agents that enable efficient DR programs by leveraging modern, distributed business process integration technologies and open standards.
In a DR business network, many entities such as the independent system operator (ISO), DR service providers and aggregators, distribution utilities, metering agents, settlement agents, billing agents and customers need to collaborate in real-time to efficiently execute demand response business processes. DRBizNet provides a foundation for this type of DR value network.