Rexel USA, Dallas, is now working with Constellation Energy, Baltimore, an energy service company (ESCO) owned by a Chicago-based electric utility, to offer facilities load response programs to help customers better manage electricity costs and create an added revenue stream for future energy efficiency projects.
Rexel USA and Constellation will help end users identify the electricity-demand sources they are willing to reduce and develop a customized action plan specific to each customer. Enrollees are then paid for the energy they reduce and, depending on the program, may be paid for simply enrolling.
Using the annual revenue earned through a load response program, a Rexel USA program participant could potentially fund energy-efficient projects such as performing energy audits to assess useage and energy improvement opportunities; installing variable-speed drives on equipment to reduce energy consumption; retro-commissioning HVAC systems to save on energy use; updating HVAC, controls and power distribution systems; and performing electrical power safety and reliability assessments.
Karl Williams, Rexel USA’s V.P. of energy solutions, said in a press release announcing the partnership, “Load response is the reduction of electrical consumption in response to high wholesale electricity prices, system resource capacity needs or system reliability events. Load-response programs, like the ones managed by Constellation Energy, are based on a revenue-share model and actually pay participants to reduce electricity use during peak demand. In addition, participants are paid for the energy they reduce during actual energy reduction events.
“With the annual revenue customers can earn, we are hopeful that they will feel empowered to pursue energy solutions of their choosing, perhaps much earlier than they ever could have imagined.”
Williams said in the press release that getting a new revenue stream and funding energy-efficiency solutions are just two reasons Rexel customers may participate in a load response program. Other reasons include supporting a facility’s functionality and the grid’s stability; reducing stress on the grid in case of an electrical emergency; and helping keep electricity costs low for participants and the community.