Demand Response—the practice of changing power consumption to better match supply—is one of many resources needed to satisfy the increasing demand for electricity in North America. In addition to providing capacity for resource adequacy and planning purposes, Demand Response also provides operators with additional flexibility to help maintain system reliability. The goal of DADS is to provide industry with a basis for projecting contributions of dispatchable and non-dispatchable (e.g., price-driven) Demand Response, in an effort to support forecast adequacy and operational reliability. The data collected through DADS is also used to quantify Demand Response participation and performance.
NERC registered Balancing Authorities, Load-Serving Entities, Distribution Providers, or Purchasing-Selling Entities that dispatch or administer Demand Response are required to register and submit data if:
DADS data collection is being implemented in four phases. Phase I began in 2010 and consisted of voluntary reporting of dispatchable (Demand-Side Management resource that is curtailed according to a signal from a System Operator) and controllable Demand Response (System Operator has physical command of the resource). In 2011, Phase II made reporting of dispatchable and controllable Demand Response programs mandatory under NERC Rules of Procedures Section 1600 and includes program registration data, event data, market participation data, and ancillary services. The data is currently gathered semi-annually for the Summer and Winter seasons.
Future phases III and IV will consist of voluntary and mandatory reporting of non-dispatchable and economic Demand Response programs.
WebDADS is a web-based system developed by the DADS Working Group to collect Demand Response enrollment and event information. To create a WebDADS account and begin reporting Demand Response data, please contact [email protected].
MRO staff primarily function as webDADS administrators. MRO assists NERC staff in initial registration of users and organizations, as well as overseeing data entry prior to aggregation at the NERC level. At the end of each reporting period, MRO staff ensures that all webDADS data forms have been completed by each Functional Entity. These forms not only include Demand Response programs and event data, but also a review of each company’s contacts and relationships to other entities within the region. MRO performs data validation to ensure any flagged content is revised by the end of the regional reporting period. Upon conclusion of the Regional Entity data review, NERC staff will begin their aggregation and review of the reporting period’s data.
More information, including aggregated Demand Response data, can be found at the NERC DADS page. Questions about this data request should be directed to [email protected].