PowerCentsDC was the first pilot to test the response of residential customers who had the choice of three different dynamic pricing options.  The program ran in Washington D.C. between July of 2008 and October of 2009 and involved about 1,000 Pepco customers.

“We’re extremely honored to be receiving this award from such a distinguished body of utility professionals,” said Chris King, chief regulatory officer at eMeter and president of eMeter Strategic Consulting.  “The PowerCentsDC program confirms our long held conviction that smart energy pricing and demand response will lead to significant changes in consumer behavior.”

Participating customers were able to choose among critical peak pricing, critical peak rebates, and hourly pricing as part of the effort.  Each customer received a smart thermostat that helped them better understand how they consume energy.  Each month the participants received detailed energy reports that provided insights into how they could save on their bill.

“We worked with eMeter to design a program with variables that had never been tested together,” said Rick Morgan, public service commissioner for Washington D.C and chairman of Pepco’s smart meter Pilot Program, Inc (SMPPI).  SMPPI is a non-profit group made up of Pepco and others that was set up to run the pilot project.  “We believe PowerCentsDC is an important step forward as it demonstrates the potential benefits of dynamic pricing for the consumer.”

eMeter was enlisted to provide and manage an integrated solution that included smart thermostats, smart meters, and Energy Engage – eMeter’s consumer engagement software package.  The system allows customers to access current information that detailed their electricity usage, costs, and carbon footprint.  The consumer response was positive as well – nearly two-thirds said the program encouraged them to conserve energy and more than two-thirds said it made them more aware of how their energy usage impacted the environment.

More than 82 percent of survey respondents said that “saving money” was the primary motivator for participating in the pilot program.  Nearly three-quarters said the difference in the hourly prices was enough to encourage them to shift demand to off-peak times when energy was cheaper.

PowerCentsDC proved that a good demand response program can reduce critical peak demand in the summertime.  This pricing group was notified a day before critical pricing would come into effect and was able to reduce consumption between 22 and 34 percent as a result.  At the end of the month this reduction in peak consumption translated into 8 percent savings during the testing period.

eMeter
2215 Bridgepointe Parkway
San Mateo, California 94404
http://www.emeter.com

Pepco Holdings
701 Ninth Street, N.W.
Washington, DC
http://www.pepco.com

Association for Energy Service Professionals
4809 E. Thistle Landing Dr., Suite 100
Phoenix, AZ 85044
http://www.aesp.org