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Pennsylvania

Demand Response or "Load Response" as it is sometimes known in the Pennsylvania PJM region allows commercial and industrial facilities in Pennsylvania to be compensated for voluntarily reducing the strain on the PJM grid in Pennsylvania. The programs available to your organization are GLD or "Guaranteed Load Drop" and FSL or "Interruptible Load for Reliability - Firm Service Level". Compensation is significant for organizations participating in these programs.



Guaranteed Load Drop

PJM's Guaranteed Load Drop program requires participants to determine a volume of capacity to curtail in the event PJM has a "Load Response Event". For example, an office building may be evaluated and determined to have enough expendable consumption that in a Load Response Event, the building could curtail 300kW of demand. Assuming a participant participates at the level promised, a recurring "capacity credit" that significantly offsets energy costs of the participating facility is earned. Additionally, a one-time payment for performing during an event is earned.

Interruptible Load for Reliability - Firm Service Level

FSL, or Firm Service Level, in contrast to GLD, requires that participants reduce demand to a predetermined level rather than by a set number of kW. Regardless of the demand level that a facility is at when a Load Response Event occurs, if the facility curtails to the predetermined level at the time of the event, they have met the requirements for the FSL program. In return for meeting performance requirements, facilities receive a recurring credit for participating and a one-time payment for performing during an event.

Frequently Asked Questions

What size facility may participate in these programs?

The total size is not important. The amount of demand your facility is able to curtail is important. A general rule of thumb is that these programs are beneficial for facilities who can curtail 100kW of demand, or at least offset 100kW of demand by replacing it with power from a cogeneration unit. Your organization may aggregate facilities in order to increase total load curtailment capacity.

How long may a facility participate in these programs?

Facilities that opt-in to these environment helping, revenue increasing programs may participate for a term as short as 12 months or as long as the programs exist.

What is a Load Response Event - should I be worried?

Load Response Events occur only in the most extreme grid emergencies. The events your organization may endure are capped at 10 per year, each lasting no more than 6 hours.

Not to worry; Eisenbach Consulting, LLC works with certified engineers that will help your organization craft a plan that protects your essential operations and sheds only the load you can spare to lose. We will even go so far as to help you purchase and install a high-capacity generator to offset the load shed from the PJM grid.

How does our organization find out more about participating in Demand Response?

Contact Eisenbach Consulting, LLC to speak with an energy consultant who can walk you through the process of participating in Demand Response.