EnerNOC, Inc. last week announced that its DemandSMART network was dispatched at record levels on July 22, 2011 as a severe heat wave swept North America.
EnerNOC’s network responded to a series of dispatches from grid operators including the mid-Atlantic’s PJM Interconnection, New York Independent System Operator, the Ontario Power Authority, and ISO-New England. EnerNOC was also dispatched by utility partners from across the United States, ultimately providing approximately 1,230 MW of demand response resources in all. These demand response dispatches helped mitigate the risk of blackouts and brownouts and reduce the cost of energy for all electricity users in the affected regions.
With record temperatures across North America, grid operators set records for demand and saw prices spike across their territories. PJM Interconnection, the nation’s largest grid operator, announced that it set a new record for peak power use at 158,450 MW. In ISO-New England, real-time pricing in some areas eclipsed $560 per MWh, approximately ten times the average 2011 hourly real-time price. EnerNOC also reached new milestones by deploying more than a third of the sites within its demand response network and dispatching a record number of megawatts to help mitigate these conditions. In total, EnerNOC contributed resources to 12 U.S. states, including all of New England, New York, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Idaho, as well as the province of Ontario, Canada.
“When temperatures rise, it puts significant strain on the electricity grid, and utilities and grid operators are increasingly looking to demand response to maintain secure, cost-effective service during these peaks. Our technology allows us to respond to the real-time needs of the grid, rapidly and with precision,” said Tim Healy, chairman and CEO of EnerNOC. “Demand response is a clean, reliable, cost-effective resource for utilities and grid operators, and it also encourages our commercial, institutional, and industrial customers to practice more efficient energy use throughout the year through energy efficiency, supply management, and carbon management initiatives.”
“Participating in demand response is straightforward, secure, and unlike a blackout, it’s invisible to our guests,” said Phoebe Ky, Director of Real Estate at Loews Hotels, which contributes demand response resources in New York City and PJM Interconnection. “We are happy to do our part to support the grid, and working with EnerNOC helps us to encourage smart energy use, both in our facilities and on the grid at large.”
