Keywords: capacity constraints, carbon constraints, demand response, greenhouse gas emissions, peak demand, transmission constraints
In the near-term, Utilities cannot build new generation or transmission lines fast enough, to address the problems of having adequate capacity to meet the ever-increasing peak demand requirements. Demand Response (DR) Programs – 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, will no longer just be a “nicety”, but become a “necessity” to advert black-outs. Residential customers now represent a larger portion of the overall electricity consumption/peak energy usage. With heightened environmental consciousness, Utilities can provide customers with a tool to manage their energy consumption resulting in significant reductions in carbon emissions, while also proactively addressing growing generation and transmission constraints. This paper evaluates how DR can be used near-term to target generation and transmission constraints; and an in-depth look into how customers managing their energy consumption, can reduce their carbon footprint. A case study – Meeting Texas’ ERCOT Growing Energy (Elliott et al. 2007), is evaluated, to see how consumer energy demand, available capacity, transmission constraints and carbon emissions are kept in balance.
Journal: TechConnect Briefs
Volume: Technical Proceedings of the 2009 Clean Technology Conference and Trade Show
Published: May 3, 2009
Pages: 210 - 213
Industry sector: Energy & Sustainability
Topic: Energy Storage
ISBN: 978-1-4398-1787-2