PG&E’s demand response programs offer incentives for business owners who curtail their facility’s energy use during times of peak demand. Occasional storms and heat waves, as well as periodic power plant repairs and maintenance, have the potential to affect California’s supply and demand for electricity. When demand is high and supply is short, power interruptions can sometimes be the result. Building enough power plants to satisfy every possible supply and demand scenario is one possibility, but the cost and environmental impact of that would be tremendous.
Demand response programs are designed to be both fiscally and environmentally responsible ways to respond to occasional and temporary peak demand periods. The programs offer incentives to businesses that volunteer and participate by temporarily reducing their electricity use when demand could outpace supply.
