What triggers an “Energy Alert Day”?
“Energy Alert Days” occur when there is a high demand for energy in California. Demand-Response customers agree to reduce their electricity usage on these days to help the state avoid blackouts and turning on additional polluting power plants. The California Public Utilities Commission has adopted a complicated formula under which alert days are triggered by the cost of purchasing power on the spot market. This trigger is a proxy for days during which available demand is starting to exceed supplies, and the most polluting power plants are being put to use.
