Enel X and Salt River project meet growing electricity demand in region with demand response program

Enel X and Salt River Project (SRP)- the nation’s third-largest public power utility are working together to help the utility’s commercial and industrial customers reduce energy usage during periods of high demand to support overall grid resiliency for all customers. Through the collaborative effort, Enel X will deliver demand response resources that will play a critical role in meeting the grid’s increased demand, where the Phoenix metropolitan area has seen some of the fastest population growth of any region in the U.S. over the past few years.

Boston, January 29, 2020 – Enel X and Salt River Project (SRP) — the nation’s third largest public power utility — are working together to help the utility’s commercial and industrial customers reduce energy usage during periods of high demand to support overall grid resiliency for all customers. Through the collaborative effort, Enel X will deliver demand response resources that will play a critical role in meeting the grid’s increased demand, where the Phoenix metropolitan area has seen some of the fastest population growth of any region in the U.S. over the past few years.

 

The demand response program supports sustainability initiatives of SRP and its customers by enabling commercial customers to reduce energy usage during periods of peak demand allowing the utility to support the region’s population growth without the need to build new power infrastructure. Customers participating in the demand response program can earn payments for committing to reduce their electricity consumption temporarily when demand on the system is highest.

 

“Through this agreement, Enel X is delivering critical demand response resources to SRP and its commercial and industrial customers, supporting the region’s continued electricity growth with more sustainable resources and without costly infrastructure upgrades,” said Surya Panditi, Head of Enel X in North America. “This agreement further demonstrates the important role that non-wire solutions like demand response can have in meeting the needs of utilities and end-users in a sustainable and cost effective way. Our team has unmatched experience across energy markets, including SRP having previously managed a similar portfolio. We look forward to joining forces with the utility again to provide its customers with a more flexible and resilient electric grid.”

 

The Phoenix metropolitan area has seen some of the fastest population growth of any region in the country, according to U.S. Census data released in the first half of 2019. To support this growth, SRP is implementing new energy resources such as demand response to help ensure grid reliability, while avoiding the high costs of new infrastructure.

 

“SRP is eager to build the commercial component of its demand response initiative as SRP is strategically planning to include demand response as a portion of its overall resource portfolio,” said Dan Dreiling, SRP director of Customer Programs. “The Business Demand Response program is also an important part of SRP’s long-term plan to meet this element of its 2035 Sustainability Goals.”

 

Under the terms of the agreement, Enel X will recruit commercial and industrial (C&I) customers from within the utility’s territory and manage the portfolio of C&I demand response resources, helping to reduce peak demand and support the integration of planned renewable resources within SRP’s distribution network. Participants can enroll in SRP’s demand response program by contacting Enel X online. The program will run from May-October, the months that see the greatest stress on the grid.

 

Enel X provides C&I demand response resources to more than 20 utilities across North America with more than 600 MW of dispatchable demand response in utility programs in which Enel X is the exclusive provider to the utility.

 

Demand response programs pay large energy consumers, such as manufacturing facilities, government agencies, and commercial real estate companies, to adjust their power consumption, which provides valuable energy services to the grid. Demand response provides greater grid flexibility and more efficient use of power infrastructure, with a view to help keep electricity prices as low as possible for all consumers.

 

Enel X in North America has around 3,400 business customers, spanning more than 10,400 sites, representing approximately 4.7 GW of demand response capacity and over 20 operational behind-the-meter storage projects. The company’s intelligent DER Optimization Software is designed to analyze real-time energy and utility bill data, improve performance, and manage distributed energy assets, including behind-the-meter storage projects.

 

SRP is a community-based, not-for-profit public power utility and the largest provider of electricity in the greater Phoenix metropolitan area, serving more than 1 million customers. SRP is also the metropolitan area’s largest supplier of water, delivering about 800,000 acre-feet annually to municipal, urban and agricultural water users.

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