Program Rules
Dispatch Months: Year-round
- Summer season (June – November, April – May)
- Winter season (December – March)
Dispatch Hours: 24x7
Lead Time: 30 minutes
How is my enrollment calculated?
Our team of analysts determines your site’s enrollment value based upon the electrical load patterns at your facility, performance in your demand response test, and information regarding your site’s operations. This value may be adjusted based upon dispatch performance history or your feedback. Our goal in determining each site’s commitment is to ensure that a site meets its performance and availability obligations in a season.
When can I change my enrollment?
You can change your enrollment seasonally, providing at least 40 business days’ notice before the start of the season (June 1 or December 1). Once you are enrolled for a season, your enrollment is fixed for the remainder of that season.
How is my performance calculated?
Your performance is based on your site’s average difference between the metered load and the baseline during dispatches.
How is my baseline calculated?
There are two main components to the program baseline: the pre-adjustment baseline and the baseline adjustment.
Pre-adjustment Baseline: The pre-adjustment baseline is calculated for each five-minute interval of the dispatch day using the average load in the same interval from the ten weekdays immediately preceding the dispatch day.
Baseline Adjustment: The baseline adjustment is calculated as the difference between your actual load over the fifteen-minute period prior to dispatch notification and your pre-adjustment baseline. Your baseline adjustment is then added to (or subtracted from) the pre-adjustment baseline for your final baseline.
When am I required to perform?
All sites are required to respond to dispatches as well as demonstrate themselves as a viable resource by passing a payment-setting audit twice per program period: once in the Summer season and once in the Winter. For 2018 and 2019, Enel X will hold a payment-setting audit during the first month of each program season. Sites that have participated in a grid operator-initiated dispatch in a program season are not required to participate in a payment-setting audit. If you are unable to perform in an audit during a season, the consequences may be a payment reduction, a reduced future enrollment, or removal from the program.
What triggers a dispatch?
Beginning in June 2018, the program will be dispatched by the regional grid operator based on real-time energy prices. If the price reaches a point above your cost to curtail, you will be dispatched. If you haven’t yet provided your cost to curtail information, please contact Enel X Support at support.EnelXNorthAmerica@enel.com or +1 888 363 7662 to receive a link to our questionnaire.
How often will I be dispatched?
The higher your cost to curtail, the less often you will be dispatched. At the highest cost levels, dispatch frequency is expected to total four to six hours per year, the same as under previous program rules. At lower cost levels, dispatch frequency may extend to hundreds of hours per year. enelx.com/northamerica
To avoid high dispatch frequency please ensure you have provided your cost to curtail information to Enel X. Please contact Enel X Support to receive a link to our questionnaire.
What do I do with a high alert? How can I prepare for a dispatch?
Review your energy reduction plan (ERP) and plan ahead. During the Summer season, dispatches usually oocur between 2 p.m. – 7 p.m. In the Winter season, dispatches have historically occured in the afternoon with a few rare dispatches in the morning. Consider scheduling shifts and work to be done up until the dispatch. Do not shut down early in anticipation of a dispatch, as it might cause a large negative baseline adjustment that will make it hard for you to perform.
What if I am managing my ICAP tag?
You can manage your ICAP tag and participate in the program, but ICAP management may negatively affect your baseline, if not careful. Repeated shedding for likely ICAP days will reduce the load that is used to calculate your pre-adjustment baseline, reducing your performance ability. Also, early shedding for an ICAP day may occur during the baseline adjustment period (the fifteen-minute window prior to dispatch notification), reducing your baseline and performance ability. Do not shut down early in anticipation of an ICAP hour, as it might cause a large negative baseline adjustment that will make it more difficult to meet your performance commitment.
Where is my ERP? How can I see how I am performing?
You can view your ERP and your dispatch performance by logging into the Enel X application at apps.enelx.com.
How will I be notified of a dispatch?
You will be notified of dispatches via our automated system. You may receive email and/or SMS messages based upon your preferences, which you can view in the Enel X application. To add or change your site’ contact information, please contact Enel X Support at support.EnelXNorthAmerica@enel.com or +1 888 363 7662.
What if I cannot respond?
If your site is unable to respond to a dispatch, please contact Enel X Support. Non-performance may affect your earnings and your site’s future enrollment (and therefore, future payments).
Performance calculations are based on your average performance throughout a dispatch, so you can earn even if you get a late start. Over-performance during the later portion of a dispatch will compensate for underperformance at the beginning of a dispatch.
If you know at least five days in advance that your site will be fully shut down during a given week, contact Enel X Support with the dates and we will work to remove those days from your baseline and performance requirements.
How will I be compensated?
For the peak season months (June, July, August for Summer and December, January for Winter) you will be paid a monthly capacity payment based on your available capacity, set by:
- If there is a dispatch: your average performance in the dispatch(es) that month, ignoring payment- setting audits.
- If there is a payment-setting audit and no dispatch: your average performance in the payment-setting audit.
- If there is no dispatch or payment-setting audit: your available capacity from the previous month in the like season.
For the non-peak season months (September, October, November, April, May for Summer and February, March for Winter) you will be paid a monthly capacity payment based on your available capacity, set by:
- If there’s a dispatch: the average of your performance in the dispatch(es) that month and your available capacity from the peak months of the same season in the program period.
- If there’s no dispatch: your available capacity from the peak months of the same season in the program period.
- Payment-setting audits are currently not expected in the non-peak season months.
How will my performance impact my payments?
Capacity payments are based on your site’s average performance across all dispatch hours in a month. You can earn up to 125% of your enrollment for dispatch over-performance. This and other adjustments are in effect for succeeding months until another dispatch or new season. Additionally, your site will earn energy payments per each dispatch hour based on the sum of the kWh curtailed during each dispatch hour.
