AEMA Testifies in Support of Demand Response Legislation

March 26, 2015

Kirsten Voinis (512) 922-7141 or kvoinis@kvoinis.com

AEMA TESTIFIES IN SUPPORT OF DEMAND RESPONSE LEGISLATION
House State Affairs Committee hears HB 3343 by Rep. Sylvester Turner


The Advanced Energy Management Alliance (AEMA) on Wednesday urged the House State Affairs Committee to pass legislation that would remove constraints to the use of demand response in Texas, empowering more Texans to control their own electricity usage at times when the state’s electric grid is under stress and prices are high.

AEMA testified in support of House Bill 3343 by Rep. Sylvester Turner (D-Houston). The bill was left pending by the committee.

AEMA – a coalition of providers and supporters of demand response – believes that greater use of demand response will result in a more economically efficient, reliable and competitive electricity market while promoting a strong state economy and lower power costs for individuals and businesses. In addition, demand response reduces environmental impact from further electricity production.

The following statement can be attributed Suzanne Bertin, who testified representing AEMA. Bertin is director of regulatory affairs for EnerNOC, an AEMA member. The statement is taken from Bertin’s testimony (Bertin’s full testimony is available upon request).

“HB 3343 will make the ERCOT energy market more competitive, efficient and allow demand response to play a greater role in helping ERCOT maintain the reliability of the electric grid. …

“For demand response to be able to achieve its full potential in Texas, it will be critical to break down the barriers faced by customers who want to participate. While it is easy to say that customers and generators should face exactly the same rules in the market, the reality is that customers do not have the same incentives or operational ability to participate in the electricity market. Generators are solely in the business of generating, while customers are not. Customers are primarily interested in consuming energy, whether it is to air condition their homes, or to make a product in a manufacturing facility.

“But many of those customers are willing to participate in the market to support reliability when the benefits to participate outweigh the costs. The rules should take these realities into account. …

“The proposed legislation would spur development of additional demand response by exploring and removing barriers, resulting in more reliable and competitive electricity markets. Demand response is and should be a key component of the state’s portfolio of energy resources, including nuclear energy, fossil fuels, renewable generation and energy storage. As the Texas economy continues to grow, ERCOT will need all of these resources to play a role in maintaining a reliable and efficient electricity grid.”

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Resources:

  • HB 3343 (and SB 1284 which contains identical language) can be found and tracked here: http://www.capitol.state.tx.us. Note: Text may not reflect any changes made in committee.
  • SB 1284 has not yet been set for a hearing by the Texas Senate Natural Resources & Economic Development Committee.
  • Texas-specific resources on demand response can be found at AEMA’s website: https://aem-alliance.org/news/texas/
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