EnerNOC launched a new blackout prevention offering in Texas. EnerNOC is participating in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas’ (ERCOT) Emergency Interruptible Load Service (EILS) and is partnering with local area businesses to reduce energy consumption during times of peak demand in order to maintain the stability of electricity resources. This strategic initiative marks EnerNOC’s official entry into the Texas market, expanding the company’s national footprint.

With peak demand of roughly 63,500 MW, ERCOT is more than twice the size of the New England market and, according to ERCOT’s load forecasts in July 2007, peak demand is expected to increase more than 25 percent over the next 20 years. The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy estimates that by 2023, as much as 13 percent of ERCOT’s peak demand could be addressed by demand response. In addition, ERCOT has recognized the need for additional demand response to ensure that the grid remains reliable as reserves tighten below the 12.5% margin considered optimal to maintain system reliability. Based on ERCOT’s testimony to the Texas legislature in February 2008, reserve margins are expected to be 13.1 percent this summer and to fall below the 12.5 percent level by 2009. ERCOT has also used demand response to deal with unforeseen operational issues caused by weather and the growing amount of wind generation leveraged in the system. In February 2008, for example, ERCOT operators employed demand response to advert a potential emergency caused by a sudden drop in wind power due to unexpected weather.

In addition to grid reliability, demand response also offers the residents of Texas an environmentally-friendly alternative for meeting the region’s growing energy requirements. In an October presentation to Gulf Coast Power Association, Public Utility Commission of Texas Chairman Barry Smitherman said that demand response is part of a portfolio of technology solutions that will be needed to reduce C02 emissions over the coming decades.