Demand-Response in the United States: Expansion Efforts and Electricity Market Activities

Since 2004, the federal government has made efforts to facilitate demand-response activities, including expanding their use in wholesale electricity markets. Among these efforts, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued regulatory orders affecting Regional Transmission Organizations (RTO)entities that operate the transmission system and administer wholesale markets in some parts of the country. For example, FERC issued orders approving RTO rules for quantifying the extent of demand-response activities and compensating consumers for their demand-response activities. This book provides an update since 2004 and discusses federal efforts to facilitate demand-response activities; FERC efforts to collect and report data on demand response activities; changes in the extent of demand-response activities; key benefits and challenges of current efforts.