IRVING, Texas — The OpenADR Alliance, a nonprofit corporation created to foster the development, adoption, and compliance of the Open Automated Demand Response (OpenADR) smart grid standard, announced that California investor owned utilities plan to require the OpenADR 2.0 standard for new customers in their Demand Response (DR) Enabling Technology programs in 2013. Pacific Gas & Electric, San Diego Gas & Electric, and Southern California Edison will add OpenADR 2.0 certified products to support locational dispatch of emergency and price DR, allowing them to better manage peak demand without the need for new power plants.

OpenADR is an open global standard designed to enable electricity providers and system operators to automatically communicate DR signals with each other and their customers using a common language over any existing IP-based communications network. OpenADR automates and simplifies customer DR participation, to improve DR event results.

“The availability of products complying with the OpenADR 2.0 standard will allow us to reduce the cost and improve the performance of our AutoDR programs,” said Albert Chiu, product manager, Pacific Gas & Electric. “Using an OpenADR-based system, our customers can better manage their energy use during DR events, and the utility can minimize stranded assets at the same time. The automated system has provided PG&E and our customers a better way to manage DR resources.”