"Gas Demand Response" Pilot Program: Response Due by 2/3/23

• SoCalGas implemented residential DR response pilots during the 2016-2019 winter seasons due to capacity constraints at the Aliso Canyon gas storage facility and ongoing maintenance on transmission pipelines.
•  These initial pilots were limited to voluntary conservation signals and residential thermostat controls, which remotely lowered the temperature set point for four hours during a gas DR event with participating customers.

Issues to be Considered and Relevant Safety Considerations

• The principal issues to be considered in this Application are whether the (Public Utility)Commission
  should approve the Pilot Programs
• Whether it should therefore grant the relief requested as summarized in Section VI below. 
• There do not appear to be relevant safety concerns with respect to this Application.

Chapter 2: Technical Presentation – SoCalGas’s Gas Demand Response Pilot Programs:

The Pilot Programs’ purpose is to test the effectiveness of reducing gas usage during system peak demand periods:

• Commercial
• Industrial
• Low-income residential customers in disadvantaged communities 

As well as a research initiative (Technology Evaluation Program) to identify gas DR equipment and to further support their participation in future DR programs, FOR:

• Commercial
• Industrial
• Low-income residential customers in disadvantaged communities

In compliance with (Public Utility) directives, on October 16, 2022, SoCalGas held a public
workshop

• Seeking public input on a potential Commercial and Industrial (C&I) Load Reduction Pilot pilot and other potential demand response pilots.
• On the need for a gas DR program and consider other alternatives that could be more effective in addressing the natural gas curtailments and reliability issues that those proposed DR programs aimed to address. 

Rule 2.1(b) – All correspondence and communications to SoCalGas regarding this Application should be addressed to:
Evelyn M. Loya
Regulatory Case Manager for:
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAS COMPANY
555 West Fifth Street, GT-14D6
Los Angeles, California 90013
Tel: (213) 231-5979
Fax: (213) 244-4957
E-mail: ELoya@socalgas.com
 
A copy should also be sent to:
JOHNNY Q. TRAN
Attorney for:
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAS COMPANY
555 West Fifth Street, GT-14E7
Los Angeles, California 90013
Telephone: (213) 244-2981
Facsimile: (213) 629-9620
E-mail: JQTran@socalgas.com

Sept 2021:  DOE Announces Up to $10 Million in Funding to Develop Natural Gas Demand Response Pilot Program | Department of Energy 

"The Natural Gas Demand Response Program’s (NGDR) goal is to reduce supply constraints and optimize energy consumption by promoting more transparency with respect to the costs of energy. Demand response programs aim to shift consumption by end-users away from peak demand periods (or periods of system strain), which can improve an energy system’s reliability and achieve overall reductions to meet energy efficiency goals."