CEA Demand-Side Management Strategies 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which demand response mechanism allows a utility to remotely cycle a customer's air conditioning compressor during peak events?
- Critical peak pricing
- Direct load control (Correct answer)
- Voluntary curtailment
- Real-time pricing
Correct answer: Direct load control
Direct load control gives the utility remote authority to cycle or interrupt specific end-use equipment such as air conditioners or water heaters.
Question 2: A DSM program achieves an avoided cost of $0.05/kWh but costs the utility $0.08/kWh to administer. What does this suggest?
- The program passes the TRC test
- The program fails the program administrator cost test (Correct answer)
- The program is cost-effective for participants
- The program improves load factor
Correct answer: The program fails the program administrator cost test
When the program administrator's cost per kWh saved exceeds the avoided cost, the program fails the program administrator cost test.
Question 3: Peak clipping as a DSM strategy directly reduces which component of utility system costs?
- Base load generation fuel costs
- Transmission and distribution capacity costs (Correct answer)
- Spinning reserve requirements only
- Reactive power compensation costs
Correct answer: Transmission and distribution capacity costs
Peak clipping reduces the maximum demand the utility must serve, deferring or eliminating T&D infrastructure investments sized for peak conditions.
Question 4: Which end-use sector typically offers the greatest potential for demand response in the U.S.?
- Residential lighting
- Commercial HVAC (Correct answer)
- Industrial pumping systems
- Street lighting
Correct answer: Commercial HVAC
Commercial HVAC systems represent the largest controllable load in the U.S. commercial sector, offering significant thermal mass for demand response flexibility.
Question 5: An energy efficiency program targets the 'split incentive' barrier. Which scenario does this barrier describe?
- A landlord pays the capital cost of efficient equipment but tenants pay the energy bills (Correct answer)
- Customers lack information about efficient products
- Efficient equipment costs more upfront than standard equipment
- Customers undervalue future energy savings
Correct answer: A landlord pays the capital cost of efficient equipment but tenants pay the energy bills
The split incentive barrier occurs when the party who pays for an efficiency upgrade (landlord) does not receive the resulting energy bill savings (tenant).
Question 6: In the context of DSM planning, 'conservation voltage reduction' (CVR) works by:
- Installing capacitors to improve power factor
- Lowering distribution voltage within ANSI limits to reduce power consumption (Correct answer)
- Interrupting customer loads during emergencies
- Installing voltage regulators at substations
Correct answer: Lowering distribution voltage within ANSI limits to reduce power consumption
CVR reduces distribution voltage to the lower end of the acceptable ANSI range (114V), which decreases power consumption of many voltage-sensitive loads.
Question 7: Which evaluation method isolates the net savings attributable to a DSM program by comparing participants to a matched control group?
- Engineering estimation
- Billing regression analysis
- Randomized controlled trial (Correct answer)
- Protocol simulation
Correct answer: Randomized controlled trial
Randomized controlled trials randomly assign customers to treatment and control groups, providing the most reliable estimate of program-caused savings.
CEA Demand-Side Management Strategies 3
Which demand response mechanism allows a utility to remotely cycle a customer's air conditioning compressor during peak events?