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California Demand Response
California businesses reduce energy spend and earn money with Enel through PG&E, SCE, and SDG&E demand response programs.
Demand response programs are essential grid reliability resources for the California Independent System Operator (CAISO), the region’s electric grid operator. Demand response programs are administered by California’s three regulated investor-owned utilities (IOUs): Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), Southern California Edison (SCE), and San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E). By participating in these programs, PG&E, SCE, and SDG&E customers help the state manage electricity demand by reducing consumption when called upon by the grid – and these customers earn revenue for their efforts.
Enel North America has a proven track record of enabling hundreds of organizations throughout California to earn money, save on energy costs, and mitigate carbon emissions with demand response. With almost two decades of experience providing demand response services in California, Enel provides the market expertise, tools, guidance, and advocacy organizations need to maximize their demand response earning potential today and protect their demand response opportunity going forward. With Enel, participating in demand response has never been easier.
California demand response program options
PG&E demand response program overview
Two programs are available – dual enrollment is not permitted.
|
Capacity Bidding Program |
Time of Use – Base Interruptible Program |
|
|
Program period |
May 1 – October 31 |
Year-round |
|
Program hours |
Non-holiday weekdays
|
24x7x365 |
|
Advanced notification |
Day-ahead, no later than 5 PM PT |
30 minutes ahead |
|
Event duration |
1 – 4 hours, typically 1 – 2 hours |
1 – 6 hours, typically 1 – 3 hours |
SCE demand response program overview
Two programs are available – dual enrollment is not permitted.
|
Capacity Bidding Program |
Time of Use – Base Interruptible Program |
|
|
Program period |
May 1 – October 31 |
Year-round |
|
Program hours |
Non-holidays Mon – Sat (May – Sep), Mon – Fri (Oct)
|
24x7x365 |
|
Advanced notification |
Day-ahead, no later than 5 PM PT |
30 minutes ahead |
|
Event duration |
1 – 5 hours |
1 – 6 hours, typically 1 – 3 hours |
SDG&E demand response program overview
|
Capacity Bidding Program |
|
|
Program period |
May 1 – October 31 |
|
Program hours |
1 PM – 9 PM PT, Monday – Saturday, excluding holidays |
|
Advanced notification |
Day-ahead, no later than 5 PM PT |
|
Event duration |
2 – 4 hours |
California demand response program FAQs
Demand response programs provide a no-risk, no-cost opportunity for commercial, institutional, and industrial organizations to earn money while helping maintain reliable electricity throughout the PG&E, SCE, and SDG&E regions of California. Program participants receive recurring capacity payments for agreeing to curtail electricity consumption in response to abnormally high electricity demand or electricity price spikes and additional energy payments based on their performance during dispatches.
- Maximize payments to your bottom line: Enel manages your participation from start to finish, ensuring you earn the highest possible financial reward. Since 2015, our customers have earned more than $1.325 billion in payments.
- Improve your facilities’ resilience: In addition to the payments, participants receive advanced notification of grid stability issues, enabling them to proactively protect their facilities from potential power outages.
- Support your community: Your participation helps maintain reliable electricity in your community
Enel makes participation easy. We take care of the complex details so you can stay focused on running your business.
- Our local experts work with you directly to identify your energy reduction potential and create a strategy that delivers maximum value with minimum impact on your operations. We outline these measures in a detailed Energy Reduction Plan.
- We install necessary metering devices at your facility to establish communication with our Network Operations Center (NOC), so we can monitor your energy consumption levels in real time.
- Enel simulates a demand response dispatch to ensure that you are comfortable with your Energy Reduction Plan. At any time during a dispatch, you can log into our app to view your performance in real-time.
- Your site is then enrolled and ready to respond if and when a dispatch begins. Throughout the process, we fully manage enrollment, measurement, verification, and payments on your behalf.
- Notification: When PG&E, SCE, or SDG&E have a need for capacity, Enel will provide notification via email, phone, or SMS informing you of the dispatch details.
- Response: At the start of the dispatch, your facility will reduce its electricity usage according to your predetermined Energy Reduction Plan – either manually or, if requested, automatically through the NOC.
- Support: Before, during, and after a dispatch, our NOC remains in communication with your facility. Our staff is available 24x7x365, supporting you to ensure that you achieve the highest possible levels of performance and payments.
Enel has extensive experience creating reduction strategies that work within the operational limitations of a wide variety of facilities, including cold storage, manufacturers, food processors, universities, malls, office buildings and more.
Common reduction examples include:
- Reduce non-essential lighting
- Modify manufacturing processes
- Adjust HVAC equipment
- Dial back pumps
- Change settings in industrial freezers
Customers often facilitate dispatch participation by simply shifting many of their energy-intensive processes by a few hours. Ask us about our experience working with customers like you.
Our experts are standing by to speak with you about your organization’s demand response opportunity. Submit your information here to get a conversation started with our team.
California demand response resources
