Brattle Study Examines Potential for Coordinated Demand-Side Programs to Expand Grid Capacity
As utilities face rising electricity demand, tightening reserve margins and increasing pressure to control customer costs, a new analysis from Uplight and The Brattle Group suggests that coordinated demand-side management strategies could provide significantly more grid capacity than many utilities currently capture through existing programs.
The study evaluated how a representative utility in the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) region could improve peak demand reduction by coordinating existing demand response, energy efficiency and rate-based programs into a unified operational framework referred to as the “Demand Stack.”
According to the analysis, the utility’s peak demand reduction capability could increase from 146 MW to 235 MW by 2030 — roughly a 60% increase — without requiring major changes to existing program structures or customer offerings.
The research was based on analysis of the utility’s hourly annual load profile and existing demand-side management (DSM) portfolio. Brattle evaluated a series of near-term operational strategies intended to improve how programs are coordinated and dispatched during periods of peak system demand.
Study Highlights Participation and Coordination Strategies
The analysis modeled six demand-side strategies spanning energy efficiency, demand response and time-of-use rate programs. Four primary strategies — event enrollment, event experience, forecasting improvements and staggered dispatch — were directly quantified in the study.
Researchers found that expanded participation and optimized dispatch strategies could deliver an additional 90 MW of peak reduction capability by 2030, increasing the demand-side contribution from approximately 3% to 5% of system peak demand.
The report also found that energy efficiency programs continue to provide baseload value throughout the year, helping reduce overall peak-shaving requirements while supporting increasing electrification and load growth. In addition, coordinated dispatch strategies could extend load reductions across a broader range of hours rather than concentrating performance solely during annual peak events.
One of the study’s largest findings centered on customer participation. Enrollment-focused approaches — including one-click enrollment, point-of-sale signups and personalized outreach — accounted for as much as 53 MW of incremental demand-side capability.
Demand-Side Resources Gain Attention in Resource Planning
Utilities across North America are increasingly examining demand-side flexibility as a planning resource as they contend with growing load forecasts tied to electrification, industrial expansion and data center development.
The Brattle analysis explored whether existing DSM portfolios could evolve into more predictable, planning-grade resources that utilities can incorporate into integrated resource planning and long-term capacity strategies.
“This analysis was designed to answer a key question that utilities are wrestling with right now: How can we quickly scale demand-side resources to address emerging power system challenges,” said Ryan Hledik, principal at The Brattle Group and co-author of the study.
The report concludes that many utilities may be able to extract additional system value from programs already in place by improving coordination between demand response, energy efficiency and rate design strategies, rather than relying solely on entirely new program development.
The Demand Stack framework evaluated in the study was designed as a scalable model that could be adapted to utilities with different program portfolios, service territories and levels of DSM maturity.
The full analysis from The Brattle Group is publicly available through Uplight.