Tata Power Delhi Distribution Ltd (TPDDL) has entered into a partnership with Autogrid Systems Inc, an AI-based energy management solutions provider, to jointly launch a behavioural demand response program for power distribution company’s residential customers to reduce peak demand and network capital costs.
“This pilot project aims to empower customers by helping them understand their consumption patterns and evaluate the effectiveness of demand response programs,” TPDDL said in a statement on Tuesday. The pilot will be initiated for a period of three months, from July to September with 4,000 residential consumers with smart metre connections.
Electricity consumption is set to grow dramatically in India, especially for cooling purposes, as the population of the country grows and more consumers deploy air conditioners and electric vehicles, TPDDL said. “Behavioural Demand Response is regarded as an essential component as it helps build up the necessary flexibility on demand side to match the flexibility on supply side. Through this pilot program, we intend to give more control in the hands of the consumers,” CEO Ganesh Srinivasan said.
Demand response programs aim to reduce or shift energy consumption from peak hours of the day to leaner demand periods using differential pricing and incentives to the consumers for shifting their time of usage. “Participating customers can stay in control of their consumption, and voluntarily choose to turn down non-essential loads to reduce total load at peak times,” TPDDL said.
To increase customer participation, the company will also provide incentives to customers based on the level of their participation in the pilot program. The results of the pilot will then be shared with the state regulator to formulate appropriate incentives which can be applicable for TPDDL’s entire customer base of 7 million in north Delhi, the firm said.
Based on the acceptance and success of the pilot, the program will also be expanded in a phased manner to include automated demand response-leveraging residential air conditioning systems and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system at commercial and industrial sites.
The companies also envision the integration of renewable energy and storage for grid balancing and microgrids and site optimization for Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS) applications.