On November 7, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued their 13th annual report on demand response and advanced metering, which is required by the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

They discussed the penetration rates for advanced meters, as well grid modernization. The report noted that data has recently indicated that advanced meters have become the main type of meters in the United States. The penetration rate for advanced meters has approached 50 percent. In the last year, several states have requested advanced meters to be deployed on a larger scale; a number of them were approved to carry on.

The summer of 2018’s high temperatures and high fire risks led to utilities and operators in multiple states asking their customers to participate in voluntary conservation, emergency demand response, and/or critical peak pricing.

FERC also provided information on survey data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on recent actions that were taken at the state, federal, and regional levels, as well as by industry. EIA’s data shows that the biggest increase in customer enrollment in retail demand programs was in the radio frequency region, which increased by 50 percent. EIA says this increase was mostly due to the higher reported enrollment programs that are run by DTE Electric Company, Delmarva Power, and Potomac Electric Power Company.

The data shows that the enrollment in retail demand response programs went up by 8.2 percent between 2015 and 2016, and the enrollment in time-based rate programs went up by 4.8 percent.

FERC also responded to Advanced Energy Economy’s (AEE) petition for declaratory order pertaining to their “jurisdiction to regulate the participation of certain energy efficiency resources in the wholesale electricity markets.” FERC found that it indeed has jurisdiction in those markets, exclusively.

They approved the proposed modifications to PJM’s tariff to “improve the ability of certain resource types to participate in PJM’s capacity market.”

The assessment also included information on Order No. 841, the Electric Storage Resource Participation in Markets Operated by Regional Transmission Organizations and Independent System Operators, which is intended to remove any barriers for “the participation of electric storage resources in the RTO and ISO markets,” by requiring RTO and ISO to revise their tariffs and establish a model for participation that recognizes the operational and physical characteristics for the storage of electric resources.

FERC discussed the different issues and developments in demand response, specifically state legislative and regulatory activities regarding those and time-based rates. Several states have approved time-based rate pilot programs, “some in combination with proposed electric vehicle charging infrastructure investments, due to an interest in incenting off-peak charging of electric vehicles.” Other states have begun to consider what their next steps will be in regard to time-based rate programs and demand response.

FERC discussed the different issues and developments in demand response, specifically state legislative and regulatory activities regarding those and time-based rates. Several states have approved time-based rate pilot programs, “some in combination with proposed electric vehicle charging infrastructure investments, due to an interest in incenting off-peak charging of electric vehicles.” Other states have begun to consider what their next steps will be in regard to time-based rate programs and demand response.

• FERC