Demand response: promise and reality

Demand response: promise and reality.

The case for demand response (DR ) initiatives has been made for many years. Looking forward, peak demand for electricity is projected to rise by 19 percent nationally over the next decade, but capital committed to electric power generation, transmission, and distribution is expected to grow by only 6 percent during the same period according to the North American Electric Reliability Council. DR has the potential to play a significant role in closing that gap and easing the strain on North America’s power delivery infrastructure. In fact, many in the electric power industry view DR as a potential solution to mitigate growing peak demand, enhance grid reliability, and defer new power generation and delivery capacity development.