Apogee CEO Suggests FERC Insist on Demand Response in Market Rules.

Business Editors

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 14, 2002

As government grapples with the right dose of regulation to achieve effective electricity markets, Apogee Interactive CEO Joel Gilbert suggests a bit more.

"The FERC must issue standardized market rules for demand response and state regulators must support FERC in the process. We simply do not have the time for belabored consensus management at the ISO level," Gilbert explained. "FERC must provide ISOs with a common framework, language and requirements to ensure effective implementation of demand response."

In his opening panel presentation at the FERC-DOE Demand Response Conference held in Washington today, Gilbert challenged attendees, "Watch who is against demand response. If their arguments sound suspicious, consider that they may enjoy some benefit from market inefficiencies," he said. "Demand response is a natural safety valve in all efficient markets. It is far superior to capping market prices and thereby deserves its rightful place in the market."

Gilbert cited the experience of The Demand Exchange(R), the largest Internet aggregation of voluntary demand response in the US representing more than 150,000 MWhs in transactions over the past year. "We're seeing tremendous potential in day-ahead and hour-ahead markets," Gilbert said. "And, contrary to popular belief, most of these customers are not simply turning on their own generators. Seventy-five percent of the aggregate resource was turning things off," he reported.

Demand response is proving to be a cost-effective, robust and diverse addition to resource portfolios, Gilbert explained. "Under the right set of rules, residential, commercial and industrial customers will embrace the demand response opportunity and then invest in technology to participate in energy markets by installing energy efficient devices, automating building systems, using thermal storage, and implementing schedule changes."

Founded in 1995 by Gilbert, Apogee Interactive Inc. (http://www.apogee.net/) is a full-service technology solutions and consulting firm specializing in the energy industry. Its suite of business solutions include Internet-based load management platforms (including The Demand Exchange); energy management data analysis; portals for online energy courses (http://www.study-center.com/); and interactive website content and development.

Gilbert is also the founder and current vice chair of the Peak Load Management Alliance (http://www.peaklma.com/), a collaborative organization of energy companies and suppliers dedicated to advancing effective peak load management through open discussion and technology evaluation.