Flex C&I
Demand response incentives for your business
Our Flex C&I business demand response program provides incentives to business, industrial, education and municipal customers for helping us maintain safe, reliable, affordable electricity in our communities. When the demand for electricity approaches critical peak levels, utilities and grid operators dispatch our demand response network, which is made up of local organizations and residents that have agreed to reduce energy use during times of high demand. Whether it’s our hot summer months or cold winter seasons, your regional locations, large commercial or industrial sites can earn incentives simply by limiting electric use for short periods, usually only a few hours.
How it works
Commercial and industrial PSE customers, including hotels, malls, office buildings, manufacturing facilities, cold storage, restaurants, wastewater treatment plants, schools and others can easily participate in Flex C&I.
We’ve teamed up with Enel to develop a custom energy reduction plan that includes actions like adjusting HVAC set points, reducing lighting and modifying production lines to name a few. The team:
- Reviews your business’ historical electrical use data and provides an assessment on where and how you can effectively shed load during demand response events.
- Helps you understand the actions taken during a demand response event (automated or behavioral), while also providing you with an estimate of the incentive amount you can earn by participating.
- Breaks down the calculations for you. Your earnings will be a combination of your business’ committed load reduction capacity and the average of your participation across all events within a given season, multiplied by a fixed kilowatt (kW) amount.
For more information, read our FAQs.
What you get
As a participant in Flex C&I, you’ll receive support from our team to create an energy-reduction plan. As part of that plan, you’ll figure out what amount of energy you can reduce during a demand response event and receive payment for being on standby and for what you are able to achieve – up to $130 per kW annually - based on your capacity + performance.
Interested in participating in Flex C&I for your business? Submit your information and a PSE team member will follow up with you.
How you qualify
To be eligible for Flex C&I:
- You must be a current PSE electric customer under the following schedules: 7A, 24, 25, 26, 31, 35 or 49.
- Your business site must be within PSE’s electric service area and use electricity from PSE.
- You’ll work with the Flex C&I team, at no cost to you, to facilitate your participation in the program.
Frequently asked questions
Flex C&I
How do I participate?
Our Flex C&I team takes care of the complex details so you can stay focused on running your business.
- Our team will work with you to identify your energy reduction potential and create a strategy that delivers maximum value with minimum impact to your operations. These measures will be outlined in a detailed energy reduction plan.
- In some cases, our team will install necessary metering devices at your facility to establish communication with their network operations center so they can monitor your energy consumption levels in real time.
- Your site is then enrolled and ready to respond when a dispatch begins.
- Throughout the process, our team will fully manage enrollment, measurement, verification and payments all on your behalf.
How do I get notified when it’s time to reduce?
The notification you’ll receive is called a “dispatch,” and you’ll be alerted by text message, email and/or phone call. Once you’ve received the notification, you'll respond by reducing energy use in accordance with your energy reduction plan. At the conclusion of the event (the dispatch period), you can resume normal operations, and you'll receive a post-event follow-up from our team.
What can I expect during a dispatch?
- Notification: When PSE anticipates high demand on the grid, we will dispatch our demand response network into action. Our team will notify you via text message, email and/or phone call, depending on your preferences, to inform you of when the dispatch will begin.
- Response: At the start of the dispatch, your facility will reduce its electricity use according to your predetermined energy reduction plan, either manually or, if requested, through our automated tool measures.
- Support: Before, during and after a dispatch, our team remains in communication with your facility. Our team is available 24/7/365, supporting you to ensure that you achieve the highest possible levels of performance and payments.
What can I expect during a dispatch?
- Notification: When PSE anticipates high demand on the grid, we will dispatch our demand response network into action. Our team will notify you via text message, email and/or phone call, depending on your preferences, to inform you of when the dispatch will begin.
- Response: At the start of the dispatch, your facility will reduce its electricity use according to your predetermined energy reduction plan, either manually or, if requested, through our automated tool measures.
- Support: Before, during and after a dispatch, our team remain in communication with your facility. Our team is available 24/7/365, supporting you to ensure that you achieve the highest possible levels of performance and payments.
What types of reductions can I make?
Our Flex C&I team has extensive experience creating energy-reduction strategies that work within the operational limitations of a wide variety of facilities, including cold storage, manufacturing, food processing, universities, malls, office buildings and more. Our team can also help implement full control systems that allow your electric load to be toggled remotely.
Common reduction examples include:
- Reducing nonessential lighting
- Modifying manufacturing processes
- Adjusting HVAC equipment
- Dialing back pumps
- Changing settings in industrial freezers
Customers often facilitate dispatch participation by simply shifting many of their energy-intensive processes by a few hours.
Can I sign up for Flex C&I if I have an existing PSE grant?
Yes. Participation in our Flex C&I program is a layer on top of other PSE grant programs offered. For example, if you have an existing Business Lighting Incentive retrofit program grant, you may also participate in our Flex C&I program.
How do I sign up?
For personalized advice, email FlexCI@pse.com.
Lineage Logistics and Trident Seafoods: How two very different business customers used PSE’s Business Demand Response program to unlock revenue and advance sustainability.
King County’s South Plant: How King County worked with PSE’s program to leverage backup power and do its part to make the region’s grid more resilient for residents and businesses.
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