Your business can save money with Demand Response, learn how! 
  • What is Demand Response?
    Demand Response is a program through which businesses can receive payments for voluntarily reducing their electricity use when wholesale electricity prices are high, or when heavy demand threatens the reliability of the region’s electricity grid.
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  • Who runs the program, and who makes the payments?
    The PJM Interconnection, which operates the electricity grid in the mid-Atlantic region, runs the program and makes the payments. 
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  • What kind of customer participates in Demand Response?
    More than 50,000 electricity customers on the PJM grid – from large manufacturing plants to small businesses and homeowners – participate in Demand Response. 
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  • How much are participants paid?
    In 2006, PJM paid out approximately $17.4 million through its Demand Response program.  Payments to individual participants can range from a few hundred dollars up to the six-figure level, depending on the amount and timing of their usage curtailments.
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  • Will participation in Demand Response adversely affect the operation of my business?
    No.  The electricity demand you choose to curtail is discretionary; in other words, it’s electricity you may be using that’s not directly related to your core business.  In some cases, it may be energy use you can shift to other times of the day when demand is lower.
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  • What if I can’t cut back on my electricity use when I’m asked to do so?
    Participation in Demand Response is completely voluntarily.  Even if you’re enrolled in the program, you can choose when you want to participate.  In most cases, there is no penalty for declining to reduce your electricity use when you’re asked to do so.
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  • How can I participate in Demand Response?
    Participation in PJM’s Demand Response program is generally done through companies known as Curtailment Service Providers, or CSPs, who are members of PJM.  A current, complete list of these CSPs can be found at:http://www.pjm.com/services/demand-response/curtailment.html

    If you are a member of PJM, you may participate directly in Demand Response without going through a CSP.  However, there is a membership fee.

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  • Does it cost anything for me to participate in Demand Response?
    There is no cost to enroll in the Demand Response program. However, CSPs will generally share in their clients’ savings, keeping a percentage of PJM’s payments to their clients as a fee for their services.  Since this percentage may vary among CSPs – and since there may also be costs associated with hardware and/or software that may be required for participation – you may want to contact several CSPs on the list to compare their offers.
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