Capacity Bidding Program

The summer season is naturally a time when energy use is at its peak. This increased demand impacts the electrical grid and could result in higher energy costs for Southern California Edison customers. Reducing energy load during these critical periods is key to alleviating power shortages, saving money and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

CBP is an Internet-based program that offers payments for agreeing to reduce load (for example, lighting, HVAC, escalators/elevators, pumps or some manufacturing equipment) when a CBP event is called.

How the Program Works

As a CBP participant, you make monthly nominations and receive capacity payments based on the amount of capacity reduction nominated each month, plus energy payments based on your actual kilowatt-hour (kWh) energy reduction when an event is called. The amount of capacity nomination can be adjusted on a monthly basis.

Each month, you may change your event notification timing (to either a Day-Ahead or Day-Of basis) and you may change your demand response event commitment period to 1-4, 2-6, or 4-8 hour intervals. You will not be required to reduce load for more than 24 hours in any one month.

When and How a CBP Event is Called:

• A CBP event may occur between May 1 through October 31 on any weekday (excluding holidays) between the hours of 11 a.m. and 7 p.m.
• SCE may activate a CBP event when it would otherwise use generating (supply) resources rated at a thermal heat rate of 15,000 BTU/kWh on a day-ahead or day-of basis.
• An event may be caused by supply resource limitations, a generating unit outage, transmission constraints, high temperatures or other system emergencies.
• Each month, you may change your event notification timing (to either a Day-Ahead or Day-Of basis) and you may change your demand response event commitment period to 1-4, 2-6, or 4-8 hour intervals.
• You will not be required to reduce load for more than 24 hours in any one month.

What You'll Receive

Capacity Payments

Because CBP is Internet-based, it’s easy to submit your monthly energy reduction nominations, change your nominations monthly and access a variety of reports. You can manage load reduction across multiple facilities, and receive CBP payments even if no events are called during a given month.

The following charts show the capacity credit rates available through CBP for both the “Day-Ahead” and “Day-Of” options. If you are a directly enrolled customer, you will receive 80% of the capacity incentive rates below; aggregators will receive 100% of the incentive amount. Actual capacity payments will vary each month as your nominations change or actual performance varies from the nominated capacity reduction. If a CBP event is not called during a given month, you will receive the full capacity payment.

*The amounts of the capacity credit rates will be fixed until further modified by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).

Calculation of Capacity and Energy Payments and Penalties

Capacity payments depend on your business’ measured reduction and on your nominated committed load. Credits and Penalties are assessed based on hourly performance. CBP capacity and energy payments are calculated based on the following:

Note: Payments will be made after the meter has been read and capacity and energy payments have been calculated. Energy payments do not apply to Direct Access (DA) of Community Choice Aggregator (CCA) customers.

Determining Actual Reduced Energy:

SCE determines the amount of energy you actually reduce in each hour of a CBP event by comparing the load reduction to either your Customer Specific Energy Baseline (CSEB) (for customers directly enrolled) or your Aggregated Group Energy Baseline (AGEB) (for load nominated by aggregators), whichever is applicable.

Who Can Participate

You can participate in CBP if you are an SCE Bundled Service, Direct Access or Community Choice Aggregation customer, or an aggregator of these customers. You must have Internet access and an SCE-approved communicating interval metering system.

What Is Needed

To participate in CBP, you must have the following:

• An SCE-approved communicating interval metering system capable of recording usage in 15-minute intervals
• Internet access
• If you are a Direct Access customer using a third-party (external) meter data management agent and/or a third-party meter service provider, you are responsible for the costs related to transmitting meter data to SCE.

Easy To Participate

For more information or to enroll in the Capacity Bidding Program, contact your SCE account representative or call the Demand Response Helpline at (866) 334-7827.

For additional information about the Capacity Bidding Program, please see:

• CBP Registration Information
• CBP Forms, Brochures, and Other Information
• CBP List of Demand Response Aggregators