CPower Contracts with SCE to provide 35 MWs of DR Capacity under Demand Response Auction Mechanism (DRAM)
CAMPBELL, Calif., Nov. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — CPower, a leading provider of commercial and industrial demand response in California and the US, announced today it has contracted with Southern California Edison to provide 35 megawatts (MWs) of the utility’s 100 MW capacity procurement as part of the 2018/2019 Demand Response Auction Mechanism (DRAM), a pilot program entering its third phase.
The announcement comes as demand response in California continues evolving and becomes more integrated with other resources into the California Independent System Operator’s (CAISO) markets.
Jennifer Chamberlin, CPower’s Executive Director for California, has more than 15 years of experience in the Golden State’s energy industry and believes CPower is positioned to help the state achieve its clean energy and grid reliability goals with the DRAM program while helping organizations earn revenue through curtailment.
“The DRAM Pilot is an exciting way for customers to participate directly in the CAISO markets,” Chamberlin said. “Our customers offer load curtailment that can be used to meet grid needs instead of turning on a power plant, helping to support the CAISO grid with a carbon-free resource attained by allowing customers to respond to market prices and reduce energy consumption when the system needs it most.”
DRAM was created in 2014 under the guidance of the California Public Utility Commission (CPUC) in an effort to harmonize utility-based reliability demand response with CAISO, the state’s grid operator. The program seeks to allow CAISO to add reliable demand response resources to areas of California where electric reliability may be at risk.
Launched in 2015 and now in its third year, the DRAM is a pay-as-bid pilot in which California’s investor-owned utilities (IOUs) seek monthly demand response system capacity, local capacity, and flexible capacity for January to December.
