Lower Your Business Energy Costs 

Demand Response (DR) programs for businesses reward organizations for reducing or shifting their electricity use when electricity demand is high, typically during the summer. Participation in one or more DR programs not only promotes business savings but also helps reduce strain on the electrical supply while maintaining safe and reliable power for your business and the communities you serve.

Why Participate in Demand Response? 

The cleanest, most sustainable energy is the energy we never use. By reducing energy use during critical times, you’re doing much more than saving money for your business. You’re helping to ensure that power stays on for everyone, particularly during emergencies, making a real difference for your employees and customers.

Our Demand Response Programs for Business 

We offer a variety of DR programs to fit the savings and operational needs of your business. Enroll your accounts in the program of your choice, then simply participate in DR events to start saving.

Emergency Load Reduction Program (ELRP)

Earn bill credits for reducing energy use during ELRP events. The program is completely voluntary and there are no penalties if you do not participate.

How It Works

Your business submits a one-time kW-reduction bid at the time of enrollment. When the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) issues an alert, warning, or emergency, we notify participants of an impending ELRP event and the need for a power reduction. Notice of an ELRP event may be delivered the day before an event, or in the case of an emergency the same day a reduction is needed. Event hours are between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m., any day of the week, including holidays, between May 1 and October 31 and last a minimum of one hour to a maximum of five hours. Participants earn $2 per kWh or $2,000 per MWh reduced during an event.

Eligibility

To be eligible to participate, non-residential (commercial, industrial, and agricultural) individual bundled-service customers must be able to reduce load by a minimum of one kilowatt during an ELRP event, have an SCE-approved interval meter or SmartConnect™ meter that can measure energy consumption, at least hourly, and if applicable, can measure exported energy. Dual participation in BIP, AP-I, SDP-C, CPP, and RTP is allowed. Customers are encouraged to review their historical summer energy demands to determine an achievable bid amount. 

Agricultural and Pumping Interruptible (AP-I) Program

Receive monthly bill credits year-round for allowing us to temporarily interrupt electric service to your pumping equipment during AP-I events.

How It Works

A control device is installed near your meter or pumping equipment to control the total load served. When the grid is experiencing high demand, the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) notifies us that energy use must be reduced. We then transmit a signal to the device that automatically turns off electricity until critical demand—or the occasional test—has ended. 

Eligibility

If your business is billed under an Agricultural and Pumping rate schedule and uses a measured demand of at least 37 kilowatts or a connected load of at least 50 horsepower, you may be eligible for this program. Businesses with service under Option A of the TOU-PA tariff or receiving off-peak credits through Schedule PA-1 are not eligible. (Other exclusions apply. See the program Tariff Sheet for details).

Base Interruptible Program (BIP) 

Recommended for businesses with operational flexibility, BIP rewards you with monthly bill credits year-round for reducing energy use during a BIP event, even when no interruptions occur.

How It Works

You choose how much energy you need to stay up and running and we’ll provide advance notice of an impending power interruption, according to your preference. When a BIP event is initiated, we notify your designated contacts via email, phone, and/or text (SMS) that a period of interruption has begun. Events are limited to 1 per day, 10 per calendar month, and up to 6 hours each for a maximum of 180 hours per calendar year. Depending on your level of energy reduction, you’ll receive bill credits as compensation.

Eligibility

To be eligible to participate, your business must have a registered demand reaching or exceeding 200 kilowatts. You’ll need to choose a Firm Service Level (FSL) that reflects the amount of electricity you need to operate during a demand response event, and a participation option, which is the amount of time (15 or 30 minutes) you need to respond to each event. You’ll also need to commit to reducing your demand by at least 15% (and no less than 100 kilowatts) during each event. (See the program Tariff Sheet for details).

How We Notify You

Our free Demand, Response Alerts app ensures you’ll receive courtesy notifications about upcoming DR events straight to your smartphone. You can also easily search past and current DR events with our online tool. View DR Event Status and History.

Demand Response Aggregators

The SCE Reference Guide for Demand Response Aggregators provides contact information and website links commonly used by aggregators participating in the following programs:

• ACES (Aliso Canyon Energy Storage)
• Capacity Bidding Program Elect (CBP-E)
• LCR (Local Capacity Requirements)
• PRP (Preferred Resource Pilot)

DR Resources

• Real-Time Pricing
• Scheduled Load Reduction Program