Having a tough time with a manufacturing client on Georgia Power. Found $28K in missed demand response credits over 18 months, but they're pushing back saying they can't commit to the curtailment requirements. Anyone dealt with this objection? The plant manager is worried about production impacts.
Client Pushback on Demand Response Credits
Good suggestions all. Rosa, their peak demand runs about 850 kW pretty consistently. No backup generation currently but they do have some flexible equipment. Tom, I'll look into the firm service levels - that might be a good compromise approach.
Love the curtailment plan idea. That addresses their main concern about not knowing how to respond to events. I'll put together a sample plan showing how to shed their non-critical HVAC and lighting loads. Should be enough to meet program requirements.
Let us know how the plan presentation goes Greg. This type of objection comes up a lot - would be great to have a successful case study to reference.
Randy's got the right idea. I actually created a simple curtailment worksheet for clients - prioritizes loads by criticality and shows exact steps to take during events. Turns the unknown into something manageable.
What's their current demand profile look like? If they have flexible operations or backup generation, the curtailment risk is pretty minimal. I had a similar situation with a client on Duke Energy - turned out they could shift some processes to off-peak without any real impact.
Greg, this is pretty common. I usually present it as a risk/reward analysis. Show them the historical curtailment data - most programs only call events 10-15 times per year, usually with advance notice. $28K is significant money for manageable risk.
Check if Georgia Power has any "firm service level" options in their DR programs. Some utilities offer different commitment levels - maybe they can start with a lower participation level and build confidence over time.
Greg, another angle to consider - what if you helped them develop a curtailment plan as part of your engagement? Show them exactly how they could reduce 100-200 kW without impacting critical operations. Makes the program feel less scary when they have a concrete plan.