The US Supreme Court has just found that demand response (DR) is sold into wholesale markets, and therefore falls within the authority of the US Federal Electricity Regulatory Commission (FERC), which has authority over regional wholesale markets. In effect, this means that the multitude of demand response products and markets which have developed over the last 15 years or so, in various US States, are legal. The Electric Power Supply Association (EPSA) claimed that FERC did not have authority because demand response was related to retail markets. The Court of Columbia agreed with this. This verdict was then appealed and the process has gone the whole way up to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court Opinion sets out the issues around DR at length.
IGov 26th Jan 2016 read more »