Constellation, ODEC team up for demand management
Energy customers in Delaware, Maryland and Virginia will begin testing a new demand management program next year aimed at reducing utility costs and better managing fluctuations in wholesale energy prices.
The program is part of a new partnership between Constellation Energy and Old Dominion Electric Cooperative (ODEC). Working together, the companies will offer the Cooperative Economic Load Response Program (CELRP), to ODEC’s 11 member electric distribution cooperatives.
Set to launch in 2012, CELRP will use Constellation Energy’s VirtuWatt technology, an online energy management platform, to aggregate load information and control portfolio costs in real-time. Through a customised VirtuWatt web application, ODEC can determine optimal periods for peak load reduction and identify commercial and industrial customers eligible to reduce load during those times. To encourage participation, these customers have the opportunity to earn an incentive payment for reducing energy use.
ODEC expects to manage a minimum of 20 megawatts of load annually during the pilot, which will run through May of 2015.
“Load response programs are an attractive option for electric cooperatives and municipal utilities looking for ways to ensure reliable, cost-competitive electricity for their customers,” said Gary Fromer, senior vice president, demand response, for Constellation Energy. “Through customisation of our VirtuWatt web application, we can offer utilities access to load data at the customer, circuit, substation, distribution company and generation and transmission level to allow for greater efficiencies in managing supply and cost.”
Constellation Energy currently manages more than 1,500 megawatts of load response for commercial and industrial customers in the PJM, New England, New York, ERCOT, California and Ontario regions. The company’s VirtuWatt web application is also available as an iPhone app.
