Brattle: Texas Regulators Should Consider Providing Customers Info on REP Offers Featuring Demand Response

The Public Utility Commission of Texas should consider providing customers with information regarding offers from retail electric providers which include a demand response component, Sam Newell, principal of The Brattle Group, said during a PUCT resource adequacy workshop Friday.

Commissioners were discussing the potential for demand response to address resource adequacy concerns, and particularly, demand response among mass market customers.

Newell said that there are several things the Commission can do to promote demand response by small volume customers. Primarily, Newell said that the Commission could provide information regarding demand response and the new capabilities of smart meters, "because any new idea is slow to penetrate."

Specifically, Newell said that actions that the Commission could undertake may include, "possibly providing information on which retail electric providers have offerings," with demand response, or offers with the types of rate structures that allow customers to control their costs.

The Power to Choose website already includes a section dedicated to REP offers to buy excess distributed generation from customers. Additionally, it also allows customers to sort by renewable content, in addition to the defined product type (fixed, variable, etc.).

Other actions that Newell said could encourage mass market load response include the Commission's prior increase in the ERCOT price cap and potential further increases, which puts "a lot of value" on operational flexibility.