14 SMART ENERGY: A vision for Europe
USA: ONE STEP AHEAD With respect to Smart Energy, the USA is clearly ahead of Europe. DSM, an important Smart Energy concept, has apparently been implemented successfully in the USA, and distribution grid automation, energy efficiency programmes, and DR programmes are fairly common. The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has identified more than 14 different types of DR programmes that are currently running. The Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) from 2007 demonstrates a strong regulatory push towards DR, resulting in, for example, the National Action Plan on Demand response.
programmes. This is the potential load reduction available, rather than the actual load reduction. By the end of 2012 the total potential exceeded 70 GW, more than 9 % of the summer peak load. The contribution of residential customers to this potential is approximately 12 %, of commercial customers 43 %, and of industrial customers 45 %.
Energy utilities in the USA are obliged to offer / facilitate energy efficiency and DR programmes. Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs) and Independent System Operators (ISOs) facilitate DR through, for instance, a capacity market mechanism. DR is often technically realised by using equipment built for energy efficiency purposes, thus decreasing the cost of implementing DR.
¾¾ A different regulatory framework. In the USA, energy efficiency and DR programmes are obligatory. The effect of this is twofold. The obvious effect is the development of DR programmes. The other effect is that through the implementation of energy efficiency programmes, energy efficiency equipment (measurement, control, and communication) is introduced. This equipment is also used for DR and, in many cases, makes this economically feasible. In the EU the approach is fundamentally different and
Figure 4 shows the development of the potential DR resource contribution from all US DR
The situation in the USA differs significantly from that in Europe, and success in the USA is no guarantee for the same occurring in the EU. However, we can learn from the differences. We have identified two key disparities between the USA and the EU: