Dive Brief:
- Enel X has inked an exclusive contract with Ameren Missouri, committing to manage the utility's entire commercial and industrial (C&I) demand response portfolio and reduce load during times of peak demand.
- The company will deliver 100 MW of demand response resources from the utility's C&I customers for the 2019-2021 program period, with delivery periods running May-September each year.
- Ameren announced this week that its Missouri customers now have access to 26 programs to help reduce energy use, including $120 million in incentives and rebates. The utility last year unveiled a six-year energy efficiency proposal that expanded on past efforts and added more than a dozen new programs.
Dive Insight:
Ameren Missouri is targeting an 80% reduction in its carbon emissions by 2050, and officials say load management programs will help reach that goal.
Ameren Missouri's lineup of efficiency programs includes 15 all-new offerings, with $50 million allocated for income-eligible customers and social service agencies. The slate of efficiency programs is the "broadest, most comprehensive energy savings program in the state," Ameren Missouri President Michael Moehn said in a statement.
The utility said it expects to invest $226 million over the life of the energy efficiency programs, which it estimates will provide $592 million in benefits for customers. Income-eligible and social service agency programs will be available through December 2024; all other programs will be available through December 2021.
For its C&I customers, Enel X will be recruiting participants from different industrial sectors in the utility's territory in order to reduce peak demand across Ameren's grid and provide additional resources to the Midcontinent ISO transmission system.
The "turnkey demand response solution" will provide Ameren customers with "new revenue streams and reduced energy costs by optimizing usage during periods of peak demand," Michael Storch, head of Enel X in North America, said in a statement.
During demand response events, Enel X's customer platform will allow participants to monitor consumption in real-time and view earnings in detail wherever they are, helping them optimize participation.
"Over the last year, we have worked hand-in-hand with Enel X to leverage their deep experience in C&I demand response to hone our program design," Bill Davis, director of energy efficiency and renewables at Ameren Missouri, said in a statement. The utility's C&I programs offer "tangible economic benefits, as well as provide broader benefits to the electric grid, our state and the environment," he said.
