Dive Brief:

• A new report from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) shows that demand response "saved" the Texas grid during the polar vortex, said the Advanced Energy Management Alliance (AEMA), a newly-formed advocacy group for the demand response industry.
• Demand response "performed better than expected—and in excess of their contracted commitments" when a storm knocked out several power plants on January 6, 2014, AEMA said.
• "Demand response provided 496 MW of capacity to the grid within 46 minutes of being called," the AEMA said, based on the ERCOT report. That equals 127% of the power that demand response was contracted for. 

Dive Insight:

Demand response has typically been called upon during the hottest days of the summer, when everyone is cranking their air conditioners. But "this event shows that demand response is not just a summer resource,” said Rick Counihan, Chairman of AEMA. 

Comverge CEO Blake Young told Utility Dive that demand response also "saved the day" for PJM during the polar vortex. Young's position is that demand response should not just be used for emergency events, but should instead be “a first-call resource" on par with generation.