Episode 131 | Reliable Response | CPower
Whereas most grids have the capacity to add more power, sometimes it makes better sense to ask someone to turn something off. This is called “demand response.” My guest says they’ve been involved in this activity since the days when they had to physically call a factory and ask them to cut power. Today, it’s much more automated. In many cases, homes or businesses that participate in a demand response program have the power cut automatically over a web connection.
Baltimore-based CPower has been operating since the early 2000s. Today, they have over 5.2 gigawatts of Distributed Energy Assets (DERs) across North America. My guest, SVP IT and Product Development, Kyle Harbaugh, calls these DERs a “virtual power plant.”
“Historically the largest and easiest access consumer load of energy has been air conditioning,” he says, “but this is rapidly evolving.”
Examples of DERs on today’s grid include home solar, storage, EV charging, electric heat, electric water heaters, residential backup generators. CPower’s Link offering is a web-connected product that automatically responds to the needs of the grid. This typically comes from grid operators (Regional Transmission Organizations—RTOs), or the utilities.
“All these things impact the electrical consumption,” says Kyle, “and if you can have it respond in an automated fashion, you can have firm, reliable participation, just like a generating unit to the electric grid.”
Customers who participate in CPower’s programs will typically receive a check for curtailing or generating power on behalf of the grid. Kyle says this two-way communication also helps customers reduce “peak demand charges” associated with most energy bills.
In addition to grid-facing offerings, CPower can also manage customer’s DERs and load behind the meter. Kyle describes their EnerWise Site Optimization solution as a “playbook,” taking into account data from weather forecasts, markets, and historical use.
All of this leads to a more efficient grid that manages many tools now at our disposal in the form of DERs. Kyle says we are quickly moving to what he calls an “omni-directional grid.”
“Everyone is a consumer, a generator, and a storer of energy.”
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