At the beginning of March, I received a check for $106.28. This was my reward for reducing my electricity usage 3 days last summer.
I call it easy money. The power industry calls it Demand Response. When the demand is pushing the electricity grid to the limit, utilities will pay customers to respond by using less electricity, to ensure the supply is reliable and reduce the chances of blackouts.
This usually occurs on hot summer afternoons when people crank up their air conditioners, and little used “Peaker Plants” are fired up to meet the demand. These are usually inefficient fossil-fuel powered plants, and the utilities will pay users to avoid using them.
It is a simple way to reduce your carbon footprint.
Demand Response used to be a benefit that was extended to large consumers and businesses, but smart meters make it possible to pool individual customers together. There are 28 of these so-called Aggregator businesses listed on ConEd’s website. Orange and Rockland has 12 Aggregators. NYSEG has an in-house program.
The process, rewards and services vary among aggregators. I use the one promoted by Sustainable Westchester, which also offers power saving tips and analysis of my energy use thorough out the year.
In summer, my program will give me warning of an upcoming “Event” via text message or a notification from the app. This is usually a day ahead of time, and most events are between 2-6pm, so I have plenty of time to plan.
The easiest adjustment is to remember to run the dishwater or do the laundry in the morning. But there are other tricks like pre-cooling your house before the event starts and then turning off the AC during it. Unplugging the modem or incentivizing the kids to go to the beach is a great way to achieve some savings. As is starting to cook after 6pm. And it’s not the time to charge the car.
The season started on May 1, but it’s not too late to enroll, you may earn a smaller amount of money this season, but you will be eligible to earn the maximum amount next year.
ConEd doesn’t make it easy. When I enrolled 3 years ago signup was a little clunky, and it took 6 months to get the check, but Demand Response is worth the effort, and a simple way to get to maximize carbon reductions for minimal effort.
by Liam Robb O'Hagan