Demand Response

A smart way to save and earn.

Demand Response is a team effort between Ergon Energy Retail and our eligible large customers. It helps us smooth out the ups and downs of wholesale electricity prices and gives your business the chance to pocket some extra revenue.

As a retailer in the National Electricity Market (NEM), we wear the risk when wholesale prices spike during high demand. But here’s the good news: when we work together to keep those costs down, we share the savings with businesses that cut back on electricity during these peak times. The rewards can be big, depending on how much and how quickly you can dial down your demand. Your share of the savings is based on the reduction you achieve.

Participation is voluntary. If you’re registered for Demand Response and we invite you to join a demand response event, the choice is yours.

How it works

When wholesale prices soar, we may ask you to reduce your electricity use for a set period by:

1. Powering down all or part of your plant; or
2. Switching to your in-house generation.

Once the response period ends, we’ll let you know it’s time to return to business as usual.

Want to learn more about managing your energy use and earning rewards? Check out our Demand Response Information Guide here.

Who’s eligible?

To make the most of Demand Response, you’ll need to:

1. Be an Ergon Energy Retail business customer
2. Have significant in-house generation and/or flexibility to reduce demand by shutting down or scaling back operations
3. Act fast - usually within 30 minutes of our request
4. Be able to cut at least 1000kVA for at least 30 minutes
5. Show reasonable costs for running generation or interrupting processes at short notice