Emergency Load Reduction Program
Join us to help prevent power outages this summer.
The Emergency Load Reduction Program is a seven-year pilot program administered by PG&E that offers participants risk-free financial incentives to reduce energy usage during times of high grid stress and emergencies, with the goal of avoiding rotating outages while minimizing costs to customers. This program is unique in its voluntary nature as there are no penalties for non-performance.
Are you eligible?
Non-residential (commercial, industrial, agricultural, and small and medium business) individual PG&E bundled-service customers, Community Choice Aggregation Service customers, and Direct Access customers who meet the following criteria are eligible to enroll directly in the program:
- Able to reduce load by at least 1 kW during an event
- Not currently enrolled in any other demand response program with the exception of PG&E’s Base Interruptible Program
- May be enrolled in the Peak Day Pricing rate plan
Base Interruptible Program aggregators, Capacity Bidding Program aggregators, virtual power plant aggregators, vehicle-grid-integration aggregators, non-residential aggregators, and third-party demand response providers can enroll in the program. If you are enrolled with an aggregator or third-party demand response provider, please contact them for information about the program. Note that if you are enrolled in the Base Interruptible Program through an aggregator, your aggregator has the first option to enroll you in the program. If they choose not to enroll in the program, you may enroll directly. More information on the aggregator programs is available in the Aggregator / DRP FAQ.
How it works
If you are a business and can reduce load in times of emergency, you can help prevent power outages this summer by participating in the Emergency Load Reduction Program.
To enroll directly in the program, click the Enroll Now button and complete your enrollment application. Once your enrollment has been confirmed, you may be called upon to reduce your energy usage in response to a program event.
Events are triggered by California Independent System Operator (CAISO) notices. Refer to the “What will trigger an event?” question in the Customer FAQ for more information about what will trigger a program event. For Day-Ahead events, participants will be notified generally by 5 p.m. the day before the event occurs. For Day-Of events, participants will be notified shortly after the CAISO notice is issued. Note that Base Interruptible Program participants are only eligible for compensation for event periods that overlap with Base Interruptible Program event periods.
The program will run between May and October and events can occur any day of the week between 4-9 p.m. Events can last anywhere from one to five hours and may be called on consecutive days, dependent on grid conditions. You will not be asked to participate for more than 60 hours per year.
Your participation in this program is entirely voluntary. There will be no financial penalties if you do not meet or if you exceed your load reduction nomination. You will earn $2/kWh for load reduction during an event. Customers directly enrolled in the program will receive compensation in the form of a bill credit. If you are participating in the program through an aggregator or a third-party demand response provider, please contact them for information on financial incentives for participating in the program.