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Energy auction services firm World Energy Solutions Inc. has entered the demand response market, auctioning off building owners’ demand response rights to service providers like EnerNOC Inc. and others.
Worcester-based World Energy Solutions launched its online demand response platform, World DR Exchange, on Wednesday as an extension of its other online platforms that commercial customers use to purchase bulk power, green power or renewable energy credits. World Energy also provides the platform for the auction of carbon emissions allowances through the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative process.
In an interview with Mass High Tech on Monday, World Energy president Phil Adams said the company saw demand response evolve over the years to the point where consumers could benefit from auctions.
“We’ve been watching this market for a while and it’s following the pattern of a lot of other markets in the energy space,” he said. “The market dynamics have changed a bit — there is more competition, customers are getting savvy and they want to shop.”
The auctions will be similar to World Energy’s energy procurement auctions: customers set up profiles detailing how much power they are willing to curtail in times of demand, and then World Energy markets the requests for proposals developed to a number of curtailment service providers. World Energy then runs an online auction, where the service providers bid against each other for the contract and the highest price per kilowatt offered to the customer wins the right to negotiate a deal with the client.
The demand response market has the potential to play a significant role in the energy landscape. A recent report by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission suggests demand response could make up about 15 percent of the nation’s peak energy demand, with the New England region generating nearly 20 percent of peak demand from demand response programs.
In November, World Energy announced a private stock placement that promised to bring in $2.5 million.
Editor's Note: An earlier version of this article misidentified the full company name of the energy auction services firm. The company's complete name is World Energy Solutions Inc.
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