Siemens Smart Grid has signed a contract with Direct Energy, one of North America’s largest energy and energy-related service providers with more than six million residential and commercial customer relationships, to install a Demand Response Management System (DRMS). As a retail utility, Direct Energy will roll-out the Siemens DRMS solution to manage their existing load commitments in multiple Independent System Operators (ISOs) regions, including PJM, ISO-NE, ERCOT, and NYISO. The technology will allow the ISOs to more efficiently manage power demand requirements, especially during times of peak usage.
Demand Response programs help control power usage by giving consumers the ability to voluntarily reduce energy usage during specific times of the day when electricity prices may be highest, or during emergency situations. Peak power usage occurs when a high number of consumers are using energy at the same time. By giving consumers in-depth information about their energy usage, they are able to reduce power demand and utilities and ISOs are able to better manage how much energy is needed to power our nation’s grid. This coordinating element of Siemens DRMS helps keep a balance between supply and demand in an efficient, carbon neutral, and cost effective manner. Siemens DRMS will integrate with sub-metering devices located at each Direct Energy utility account and collect consumption data. Direct Energy can then utilize the information to better determine the amount of energy it needs to transact into the marketplace. By leveraging the forecasting and analytics engine embedded in Siemens DRMS, Direct Energy will be able to optimize the market based transactions that can have the ability to help realize significant savings being utilized as a hedge against their supply-side contracts, or generate maximum revenues at times of high demand and increased supply prices.
“Electric retail providers like Direct Energy can now integrate their demand response activities with a number of ISOs, using a single unified application to manage demand response assets for all customer classes including commercial, industrial, and the residential sector, for programs involving both economic and emergency dispatch,” said Craig Cavanaugh, director of Siemens Smart Grid Applications and Solutions. “The flexibility of Siemens DRMS to provide automated interfaces to multiple ISO systems will allow Direct Energy to operate their portfolio in a more streamlined and efficient manner and will improve reliability for all of their customers.”
Direct Energy currently offers demand response programs in the U.S. but with Siemens’ DRMS and MDMS integrated solution, Direct Energy will be able to expand its offering of various demand reduction and demand management programs throughout the U.S. and Canada. “This system will allow Direct Energy’s commodity customers to reduce their energy costs,” said Hemant Jain, head of Demand Response for Direct Energy.
The DRMS system plays an essential role in allowing Direct Energy to integrate with multiple ISOs and automate demand response programs down to the actual consumer load. Integration of the DRMS will be supported by OMNETRIC Group, A Siemens and Accenture Company. Siemens DRMS allows for the flexibility to support consumer bidding-based DRMS programs, such as day-ahead bidding. This system allows consumers to login to a web portal and determine when, and at what cost, they will provide energy back to the grid. Siemens DRMS consolidates that information and automates the execution of the bidding process between the ISOs. Once the ISO makes the appropriate determination of which bids to accept or reject, notifications are then sent back to the DRMS application and consumers are informed if their bid has been approved.
Ultimately, the complete automation of Direct Energy’s demand response programs through Siemens DRMS will enable higher program participation, effectiveness and greater operational savings.
