OhmConnect said its demand response network of customers offer a technology that matches the needs of the California Emergency Load Reduction Program (ELRP). The program pays significantly higher rates for electricity than the program in which Ohm’s customers are enrolled. Ohm communicated this after Tesla’s Virtual power Plant got big headlines for participating in the August 17th California Flex Alert.
In a Twitter thread and in a blog post, OhmConnect points out that the company had over 200 MW of available capacity, capable of delivering over 1 GWh of demand response during the 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. PST. However, the state requested only 27 MWh of this available power – for which it paid 21.9¢/kWh.
Ohm notes that under ELRP, ‘millions’ of energy users – like the Tesla VPP participants – were paid $2/kWh during the five hour event. That’s more than nine times what Ohm’s customers were paid.
OhmConnect has more than 219,000 customers. Since July 1, those customers have delivered 450 MWh of demand response across 20 events. The company says they’ve met more than 99% of over requests from CAISO utilities during that period.
Tesla Powerwall owner and VPP participant @mr_calico posted this image to Twitter during the flex event:
This image comes from the user’s Tesla mobile app. The screenshot shows that this unit is part of the Pacific Gas & Electric Company VPP, and that 2,342 homes are participating, providing just over 16.6 MWac of capacity.Various other images found online show that the total capacity and number of participants vary during the Flex event.
