Date: September 2023

Salt River Project (SRP) DR program has over 67,000 devices providing 82 MW of load flexibility, and sometimes much more. During a single event in the summer of 2022, the program delivered 133 MW of first-hour load shift, ensuring grid resilience when it was needed most. The reliability and scale of this resource has led operators and resource planners to view DR as part of the resource stack and a key component of SRP’s decarbonization goals.

Multi-family, business, and limited- and moderate-income households historically have not been included in DR programs, however, SRP calculated that this important and untapped customer segment represents approximately 200,000-300,000 households and 28,000 businesses, making it clear that investing in these communities would deliver benefits to both SRP and its customers.

SRP developed marketing campaigns and a program design to overcome barriers that have prevented these segments from engaging in demand response. Barriers addressed include the complexity of installations in multifamily buildings, plus financial and awareness challenges among traditionally marginalized communities.

In the year ahead, SRP plans to continue to grow DR Program participation within multi-family, SMB, and historically marginalized communities. The utility anticipates exceeding 85,000 devices enrolled and 150 MW load shed potential by the end of 2023.

Speakers:
Meg Campbell, Guidehouse
Eamonn Urey, Salt River Project
Jessie Guest, EnergyHub
Tyson Brown, Google (Nest)
Jim Walsh, TechniArt