Load Management Dialogue

Resource Materials For:

CPS Energy for Public Engagement

with Justin Chamberlain and Julie Cain, CPS Energy; and Michael Smith, National Grid

Thursday, July 16, 2020; 12:30 - 1:00 p.m. Eastern

Thank you for your interest in this PLMA Load Management Dialogue. This will be a 30-minute conversation with just a few Powerpoint slides.

You have access to review the recording.

Contact info:

• Justin Chamberlain, CPS Energy, [email protected]
  
• Julie Cain, CPS Energy, [email protected]
• Michael Smith, National Grid; [email protected]

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Gain key insights from a 17^th PLMA Award-winning initiative for Thought Leader.

Recognizing the need to protect their customers from potential increase in energy costs resulting from projected peak load demands and megawatt availability in the ERCOT market, CPS Energy’s leadership challenged the Demand Response (DR) team to grow the company’s DR program for summer 2019 by 28 megawatts. The team created a plan to grow through behavioral DR, wifi thermostats, and both commercial and public customer engagement. Multiple new program options were created or expanded, including DR Coaching for commercial customers and an expanded behavioral DR program to 300,000 residential customers. To achieve this goal, a public engagement campaign engaging a local news station was created. The plan focused on adding an energy peak awareness message as part of the weather segment of the newscast. When a DR event was anticipated, the weather reporter would encourage viewers to lower energy usage throughout the day. At the end of the day, a follow up thank you message was announced during the nightly newscast. Through this effort of directly engaging the customer, CPS Energy exceeded the goal by adding over 40 MWs of DR to the portfolio. To promote friendly competition, customers in the program were able to see their kwh reduction versus their neighbors and where they ranked in energy savings.

Justin Chamberlain CPS Energy and PLMA Executive Committee Justin is a Program Manager – Demand Response with CPS Energy, a public power utility that serves electric and gas to the City of San Antonio, Texas. He is responsible for customer recruitment, program design, administration and ultimately the success of residential and commercial Demand Response Programs including; Automated and Traditional Demand Response, Smart Thermostat and the development of a mid-market demand response solution.

Julie Cain CPS Energy Julie has been the Residential Program Manager for CPS Energy since 2017. She serves as a vital part of a collaborative team responsible for the achievement of CPS Energy’s aggressive DSM goals. Julie handles the day-to-day operations for residential Demand Response programs including multiple thermostat programs and Behavioral Demand Response totaling close to 500,000 customers. She also assists with the continuing expansion of new residential programs from ideation, launch, and ultimately program management.

Michael Smith National Grid and PLMA Awards Group Co-chair, Moderator Mike Smith is a Senior Program Manager at National Grid, responsible for managing the implementation of National Grid’s full portfolio of Dynamic Load Management programs in New York State. Additionally, Mike leads the expansion and development of National Grid’s DR programs as they grow to support increased DER participation and provide more focused grid solutions such as Non-Wires Alternatives. Prior to joining National Grid, Mike spent more than a decade in the Energy Consulting field, providing program development and implementation services for some of the largest utilities and state agencies in the Northeast. Mike has been active in PLMA since 2017 and serves as Co-Chair of the Awards Group.