Stakeholders approved two initiatives to improve demand response measurement and verification (M&V) last week.

The Market Implementation Committee approved a problem statement to improve the M&V accuracy for emergency DR. PJM’s Pete Langbein told members the existing procedures, which use the hour before an event as the customer baseline (CBL), may be inaccurate for dispatches in the early morning and on days with multiple dispatches.

Langbein said members have also raised concerns about the:

• Cumbersome administrative process to use an economic CBL, which requires an Electric Distribution Company review;
• After-the-fact selection of CBLs for use in settlements; and
• Use of economic CBLs for customers that primarily participate in the ancillary services market.

Residential DR M&V

Separately, the MIC also approved an issue charge that tasks the Demand Response Subcommittee with developing more accurate M&V methodology for residential demand response. The MIC approved a problem statement on this issue last month. (See PJM Seeks Better Data on Residential DR.)

PJM currently measures load reductions for much of its residential DR based on data that was compiled more than a decade ago in Maryland and New Jersey. PJM’s Shira Horowitz has said the data is no longer representative because of the growth of PJM’s footprint, changes in DR programs and increases in the energy efficiency of air conditioners and other appliances.

The old data were collected based on legacy “direct load control” (DLC) programs. Residential DR now includes use of smart meters and programmable thermostats.

The timetable for developing new M&V rules for residential DR is six months if only manual changes are required, and nine months if they entail Tariff changes requiring a filing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.