Emergency Load Reduction Program
Get paid for reducing your energy
We’re mobilizing resources to avoid rotating outages and ensure service reliability this coming summer. As part of the upcoming Emergency Load Reduction Program (ELRP), eligible SDG&E business customers will be paid to voluntarily reduce energy load in the event of a grid emergency.
How It Works
Increased demand for cooling in the hot summer months strains the electrical grid, creating a higher risk of power outages. As a result, the California Public Utilities Commission proposed an Emergency Load Reduction Program to allow SDG&E business customers to voluntarily participate in load reduction when the grid is especially stressed and get paid.
Customers who qualify and enroll for ELRP will choose their estimated target load reduction quantity to be achieved in the event of an ELRP with a minimum load shed of 50 kW. An event may be called any day of the week from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. during the months of May through October with an event duration of 1 hour to 5 hours. During a grid emergency, CAISO will trigger an ELRP event and notifications will be sent out either a Day-Ahead or Day Of the event depending on how you choose to participate in the program.
For 2022 forward Participants in the ELRP will be paid $2 kWh for verified load shed.
Note: Participation during an ELRP event is entirely voluntary, and no financial penalties will result from not meeting or exceeding the estimated nominated target during the event. You will be paid for what you deliver. See official terms and conditions for more details.
Group A:
Select non-residential customers and aggregators not participating in DR Programs
- Non-Residential, Non-DR Customers – Business Customers that are currently not participating in a DR program
- Base Interruptible Program (BIP) Aggregators or BIP participants
- A.3. Rule 21 Exporting Distributed Energy Resources (DERs)
- Virtual Power Plants (VPP) through an Aggregator
- Vehicle - Grid Integration (VGI) through an Aggregator
Group B:
Market-integrated proxy demand response (PDR) resources
- Third-party DR Providers (DRPs) participating under SDG&E’s Rule 32.
- IOU Capacity Bidding Program (CBP) participants either directly or through an Aggregator
Requirements and Conditions
SDG&E’s ELRP pilot official terms and conditions for Group A and Group B have been approved by the California Public Utilities Commission.
Only incremental load reduction (ILR) is eligible for compensation under the ELRP.
The ELRP pilot allows the use of prohibited resources during emergency events (ie. fossil fuel back-up generation) subject to air permit regulations unless waived.
Dual Participation is allowed with the following Demand Response programs:
Base Interruptible (BIP) DR Emergency program
Capacity Bidding
Other 3rd party PDR (e.g, DRAM) programs
How do I apply?
Enroll with SDG&E
Contact Us: SDG&E’s Emergency Load Reduction Pilot Operational Contact will confirm that your business is eligible to participate via email [email protected] or phone 1-858-790-1502 or for businesses with an Account Executive, please contact them first.
For more information on the Emergency Load Reduction Pilot email us at [email protected] or contact your Account Executive. You can also refer to the Decision (D.) 21-03-056, which can be found on the California Public Utilities Commission website.
The programs described herein are funded by California utility customers and administered by San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E®) under the auspices of the CPUC.