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2024 Demand Response Auction Mechanism (DRAM)

Learn about the 2024 DRAM schedule and view resources

In December 2014, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) issued Decision (D.) 14-12-024 (PDF), which requires Southern California Edison Company, San Diego Gas & Electric Company and Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) (collectively, the investor-owned utilities, or IOUs) to design and implement the Demand Response Auction Mechanism (DRAM) Request for Offers (RFO) pilot for 2016 and 2017 capacity (called the 2016 DRAM and 2017 DRAM, respectively). Then D.16-06-029 (PDF) instructed the IOUs to conduct a 2018-2019 DRAM pilot, and D.17-10-017 (PDF) instructed the IOUs to conduct an additional 2019 DRAM pilot. Following the evaluation of the initial DRAM pilots (Final DRAM Evaluation Report (PDF,) and subsequent workshops, the CPUC issued D.19-07-009 (PDF), later modified by D.19-09-041 (PDF), which authorized an auction to take place in 2019 for deliveries between June 2020 and December 2020 ("2020 DRAM"), as well as annual auctions for deliveries in 2021, 2022, and 2023. On December 23, 2019, CPUC issued D.19-12-040 (PDF), which adopted certain recommendations to improve reliability and performance from a stakeholder working group report. These refinements apply to DRAM deliveries beginning in 2021. The findings and recommendations from the DRAM Evaluation Report issued on June 24, 2022, were subsequently presented in a virtual workshop (PDF). On July 5, 2022, a Scoping Memo and Ruling was issued, detailing a phased schedule, with Phase I focusing on a 2024 DRAM Pilot and Phase II addressing the future of DRAM. The Commission issued a Final Decision D.23-01-006 (PDF) on January 13, 2023 approving the 2024 DRAM Pilot with no modifications to the existing DRAM contract and related documents.

 

The 2024 DRAM is a pay-as-bid solicitation where PG&E is seeking monthly demand response (DR) system, local, and flexible capacity. Sellers will bid aggregated demand response directly into the CAISO day-ahead energy market, and PG&E will acquire the capacity, but will have no claim on revenues the winning bidders may receive from the energy market. The DR resources are required to bid into the CAISO energy market under the CAISO must-offer obligation for DR.

2024 DRAM RFO protocols and documents

Power Advocate registration information and instructions

All Bidders who are interested in submitting a bid package into PG&E's DRAM RFO will need to register with Power Advocate before submitting an offer into the RFO.

Register at Power Advocate

Only those bidders that have been accepted through the Power Advocate platform will be permitted to bid into this RFO. We encourage you to register now.

2024 DRAM RFO Bidders' Webinar

The IOUs held a joint 2024 DRAM Bidders' Webinar at 10 am PPT on Tuesday, February 21, 2023.

Scheduling coordinator information

As part of DRAM, the IOUs issued a Scheduling Coordinator (SC) Request for Information (RFI) from Scheduling Coordinators open to providing SC services to demand response aggregators. SC information received from this RFI is provided in an information packet, with updates provided by the SCs as available: Scheduling Coordinator Request for Information Packets (PDF)

CAISO bidding information

DRAM Sellers providing capacity to PG&E will need to register their Proxy Demand Resources (PDR) at the CAISO. An initial step of this process is for Sellers to obtain customer data sharing authorizations under PG&E’s Electric Rule 24 to access customer specific information including, among other items: historical and ongoing electric usage data, account information, billing data, Pnode and Sublap, and PG&E DR program enrollment information, if any. After a Demand Response Provider (DRP) obtains Rule 24 data set elements for customers it seeks to enroll in DRAM resources, Sellers will create customer locations using the CAISO’s Demand Response Registration System (DRRS), which is needed for participating in the CAISO markets with PDR.

 

Electric Rule 24 (PDF) (Rule 24) governs how PG&E interacts with third party DRPs, including DRAM Sellers. The Commission, in D.15-03-042 (PDF), authorized PG&E to put into place certain processes and systems to facilitate a third party DRP's ability to bid PDR and RDRR into the wholesale market. PG&E's current Rule 24 systems can support 400,000 Rule 24 third party DRP locations. These registration numbers are dynamic, and do not serve to limit bid evaluation and selection.

 

Rule 24 requires that DRAM Sellers submit a Customer Information Service Request for Demand Response Providers (CISR-DRP) as defined in Rule 24 in order to access customer data. This includes Form 79-1152, available on the DRAM website, or through PG&E's electronic authorization "click-through" process.

 

The links below provide the steps necessary for DRAM Sellers to obtain customer data:

 

 

For more information, please refer to PG&E's Rule 24 website for third party Demand Response Providers.

Other information

 

Frequently asked questions

 

Frequently asked questions (FAQs) will be added once questions are received, and it will be updated periodically until bids are due.