Marilyn A. Brown, PhD
Regents & Brook Byers Professor
NAE, NAS, AAAS, CEM
School of Public Policy
Georgia Institute of Technology
Drawdown GA Business Compact
October 29, 2024
Demand Response:
A Top Pick Solution for Georgia
Demand Response (DR):
Why is it a “top pick” for Drawdown GA?
DR is a tool for clipping expensive and polluting demand peaks. It’s good for the pocketbook and the environment, and it:
DR also provides an opportunity for consumers to play a significant role in the operation of the electric grid by reducing or shifting their electricity usage.
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Look at this great example from Altus at the Quarter by Pulte Homes and Georgia Power in Atlanta in ~2019.
Demand Response: Our analysis in 2020 suggested
the potential for sizable carbon mitigation by 2030
+Bill savings for Georgia households
+Low capital costs
+Enables greater integration of solar
+Less air pollution
-+Costs/tCO2 averted = yearly average of $5 to $6
1 MtCO2e solution in 2030 = 187,000 households participating in a DR program, shift 10% of their peak to off-peak demand.
Achievable Potential = Reduction of 2 MtCO2 in 2030, totaling 19.1 MtCO2 between 2022 and 2030.
Technical Potential = Reduction of 1.6 MtCO2 in 2030, totaling 31.3 MtCO2 between 2022 and 2030.
Using the DOE National Energy Modeling System (GT-NEMS 2019), we estimated:
Georgia households, businesses, and industry would see lower electricity prices and bills
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Achievable Potential = Prices are on average 0.15% lower over the decade, saving Georgia households ~$87 million.
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Achievable Potential = Prices are on average 0.33% lower over the decade, saving Georgia businesses ~$155 million.
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Achievable Potential = Prices are on average 0.12% lower over the decade, saving industry in Georgia ~$24 million.
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Brown, Marilyn A. and Oliver Chapman (2021), “The Size, Causes, and Equity Implications of the Demand-Response Gap,” Energy Policy, 158 (November), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2021.112533
There are many types of demand response programs
Price-Nased
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Incentive-Based
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Regulated Markets
Competitive Markets
10- and 30-minute ramping DR & DG
DG & DR Response Services and Contingency Reserves
Managing load via conservation voltage reduction (CVR) measures to avoid Energy Emergency Alert
T&D Service providers
Emergency Services
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“You can save up to 15% on cooling costs and up to 10% on heating costs by controlling your heating and air system with an advanced thermostat.” Source: Georgia Power. “I heartily agree” with the proposal to continue the Residential Thermostat DR Program (Brown, 2022).
Direct load control delivers more carbon drawdown than dynamic pricing.
“Timed/smart water heater programs are being implemented by four of the nine peer utilities and are being pilot tested or studied by two other peer utilities. A residential water heater DR pilot program is being tested by Georgia Power.”
HVAC and water heating are key technologies for demand response in Georgia
Testimony before the Georgia Public Service Commission on Georgia Power’s 2022 Integrated Resource Plan (Docket 44160) and Demand Side Management Plan (Docket 44161). 5/26/2022. https://psc.ga.gov/search/facts-document/?documentId=189985.
Local EMC policies drive DR adoption in rural GA
Hart EMC
Snapping Shoals EMC
Wheeler County
Dodge County
Hart EMC
Snapping Shoals EMC
Infrastructure for DR is in place for most, but not all of Georgia
Wheeler County
Dodge County
Looking to the future:
Electrification of light duty vehicles can be better managed with DR (Source: National Energy Modeling System GT-NEMS 2023). Georgia Tech finds that:
Data centers and other large loads, as well as battery charging systems can be dispatched to provide frequency regulation and short-notice resources for managing wind and solar ramps. The Texas System Operator (ERCOT) has 600 MW of registered controllable loads (~half of one Vogtle nuclear reactor).
Data center loads can be better managed with DR (Source: North American Electric Reliability Corporation – NERC):*
With EPA’s 2024 Clean Car Standards, by 2035, the U.S. transportation sector could experience a 15% reduction in CO2 emissions, but electricity prices could increase by 15%. When combined with DR programs, the increase in electricity prices is reduced by 7% by 2035 – cutting in half the price increase.
*NERC (2024) 2024 Summer Reliability Assessment.
The transition to renewables can be better managed with DR (Source: National Energy Modeling System GT-NEMS 2023). Georgia Tech finds that DR facilitates solar energy expansion by helping to address its intermittency.
Demand Response
A solution for Georgia that;
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Dr. Marilyn A. Brown
Interim Chair, School of Public Policy
Georgia Institute of Technology
Email: mbrown9@gatech.edu
Phone: 404-385-0303
Climate and Energy Policy Lab: www.cepl.gatech.edu
+ Graduate Students: Oliver Chapman, Snehal Kale, Niraj Palsule, and Suprita Chakravarthy
Green = Existing; Yellow = Pilot program or being developed; Blue = Being considered or modeled. Source: Brown, 2022.
Solution Tracker Launch Events
Register Here
December 4
Food, Ag, & Land Sinks
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December 11
Electricity & Buildings
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December 13
Transportation & City Emissions
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Beta Tracker Here