Industrial DSM Programs: Low-Cost Resource and Smart Customer Service

Abstract

Demand-side management (DSM) is a resource that helps utilities use their system more efficiently and/or postpone the need for expensive new plant construction. But demand-side management also has another function. By allowing utilities to become involved in the processes and operations of its customers, DSM has changed the nature of the utility-customer relationship. This paper reviews the cases of four utilities that have established mutually beneficial relationships with their industrial customers through demand-side management programs. The economic consequences of the utility's involvement has been far-reaching in each of the cases presented, and these examples illustrate the close interdependence between utilities and all industries that use energy in their production processes. The importance of this interdependence is heightened by American industry's need to maintain global competitiveness.