FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Katherine Hamilton, 202.524.8832
WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 5, 2015) – The Advanced Energy Management Alliance (AEMA) noted today that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) included demand response as both a greenhouse gas compliance and reliability tool in the Clean Power Plan, released on August 3.
“We are pleased with the outcome in the final rule,” said Katherine Hamilton, Executive Director of AEMA. “AEMA filed extensive comments and analytic data during the rulemaking process, urging EPA to consider demand response as one of the solutions for states to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We believe the EPA fairly considered our arguments and subsequently added it to the final rule.”
AEMA’s comments to EPA were supported by an analysis conducted by Navigant that indicated nationwide demand response could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 1-2%. The report found that significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions could be achieved through the implementation of sophisticated demand side management programs, including demand response. As a result of these findings, Navigant concluded that demand response should be “a strategic part of implementation” of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA”) Clean Power Plan.
Beyond the reductions in greenhouse gas emissions identified in the Navigant report, demand response can provide a host of other services, including reliability, peak load management, ancillary services, and renewables integration—all which can ultimately help states reduce greenhouse gas emissions and comply with the rule.
In addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, demand response and energy efficiency have lowered consumer energy costs in PJM alone by $16 billion, based on an independent analysis of PJM’s market published in the State of the Market Report for 2014.[1] In the 2017/2018 auction, demand response is estimated to be the majority of the customer savings from efficiency and demand response combined–close to $9.3 billion.[2]
“Demand response is an appropriate and powerful way to meet the requirements of lowering emissions while mitigating costs to consumers and increasing system reliability,” continued Hamilton.
About AEMA:
The Advanced Energy Management Alliance (AEMA) is an association of providers and supporters of demand response united to overcome barriers to nationwide use of demand response for an environmentally preferable and more reliable grid. AEMA advocates policies that empower and compensate customers to manage their energy usage and make the electric grid more efficient, more reliable, more environmentally friendly, and less expensive.
[1] PJM Market Monitor, State of the Market 2014, http://www.monitoringanalytics.com/reports/pjm_state_of_the_market/2014/2014q2-som-pjm.pdf
[2] Analysis of the 2017/2018 RPM Base Residual Auction, Marketing Analytics, October 6, 2014, page 6: http://www.monitoringanalytics.com/reports/Reports/2014/IMM_Analysis_of_the_2017_2018_RPM_Base_Residual_Auction_20141006.pdf