Constellation Energy has announced an exclusive arrangement with Old Dominion Electric Cooperative to offer a new pilot program, the Cooperative Economic Load Response Program, to its 11-member electric distribution cooperatives in Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. The program is designed to allow ODEC to better manage fluctuations in wholesale supply costs and decrease utility costs for its member electric distribution cooperatives and their retail electricity customers.
ODEC’s CELRP program, which will launch in 2012, leverages Constellation Energy’s VirtuWatt technology, an online energy management platform, to aggregate load information and control portfolio costs in real-time. Through a customized VirtuWatt web application, ODEC can determine optimal periods for peak load reduction and identify commercial and industrial customers eligible to reduce load during those times. To encourage participation, these customers have the opportunity to earn an incentive payment for reducing energy use. ODEC is expecting to manage a minimum 20 megawatts of load annually during the pilot, which runs through May 2015.
Constellation Energy currently manages more than 1500 MW of load response for commercial and industrial customers in the PJM, New England, New York, ERCOT, California and Ontario regions. The company’s VirtuWatt web application, which is also available as an iPhone app, enables customers to better monitor and manage their electricity use and maximize the financial benefits of load response programs through minute-to-minute metering, real-time pricing information, marketplace bidding capabilities and automated energy curtailment strategies.
