Report Details Government Smart-Grid Policymaking

A new report from the Demand Response Coordinating Committee, a not for prof that promotes efficient energy use, suggests federal and state governments have done much in promoting a smart grid to intelligently distribute electricity, but adds that more must be done.

The report, Demand Response and Smart Metering Policy Actions Since the Energy Policy Act of 2005, points out that Congress has demanded response be incorporated into the nation’s electricity system from a policy and business perspective. (Demand response, according to Wikipedia, refers to dynamic demand mechanisms to manage customer consumption of electricity in response to supply conditions, for example, having electricity customers reduce their consumption at critical times.) Congress, the report says, has recognized that demand response and its enabling technologies are key ingredients to the development of a smart grid. The report continues:

At the same time, Congress has not yet moved to use tax policy and mandates to stimulate the growth of demand response in a way similar to what it has done in the past for renewable energy and traditional energy efficiency. Elsewhere at the federal level, however, federal regulators have used their jurisdiction over wholesale power and regional markets to directly require development and deployment of demand response.

The report reflects the great diversity of approaches and the many levels of activity underway in the states, some prompted by the Energy Policy Act but most by individual states' own initiatives. The report reinforces the significant role of states in demand response:

Much demand response involves modification of retail rates and approval of utility infrastructure investments, each of which are subject to state jurisdiction.