Demand response is the opportunity to give energy customers the ability to lower their electric demand in response to dynamic energy prices, economic supply, or emergency curtailment requests from the electric company back office Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) network to the customer onsite load shedding energy management system. During demand response, a signal can be sent through the Internet or wireless to any building or city, requesting a load shed. Typically, the onsite energy management server would be programmed to automatically account for critical electricity needed to operate normal, while allowing for unnecessary inefficiencies to be turned off or turned down, until the load shedding request is over. This would include lighting, heating and air conditioning HVAC, office equipment, appliances, etc. Demand response automation technology is green technology that is changing the way we think about energy conservation, energy savings, lowering greenhouse emissions and the effects on global warming.

The two Carnegie Mellon studies in 2006 looked at the importance of demand response for the electricity industry in general terms and with specific application of real-time pricing for consumers for the PJM Interconnection Regional Transmission authority. The latter study found that even small shifts in peak demand would have a large effect on savings to consumers and avoided costs for additional peak capacity. A 1% shift in peak demand would result in savings of 3.9%, billions of dollars at the system level. An approximately 10% reduction in peak demand (achievable depending on the elasticity of demand) would result in systems savings of between $8 to $28 billion.

California is investigating dynamic pricing tariffs as a sustainable strategy for mitigating electricity supply-demand imbalances that can result in high prices and forced outages. One form of these tariffs would offer rate discounts when system conditions are normal—most of the time—and charge higher rates, called critical peak prices, when the grid is approaching an overloaded state, or during wholesale price spikes.

Dynamic rates can also signal to the market wholesale electricity costs, which tend to be highest when electricity demand is unusually high or when supply is unusually low. Current retail electricity rates don't reflect such unexpected changes in wholesale prices. Customers don't know when electricity is unusually expensive and therefore have no motivation or incentive to reduce demand during those times. This is where auto demand response technology becomes attractive, creating seamless load shedding and energy savings to the customer.

Voluntary Load Reduction (VLR) exists where businesses are notified and given time to prepare their loads for curtailment. This allows them to properly shut down processes and cycle equipment off. Customers are notified via pager, phone or e-mail to facility or operations managers by demand response programs which provide curtailment incentives.

The residential home market is taking off with Zigbee-based demand-response systems reduce home energy usage. Homeowners are now teaming up with their utility company to participate in demand response programs to save on energy costs using a smart meter. People are really getting excited about being able to contribute and do the right thing when it comes to doing their part in the fight against global warming. Also, they are seeing real savings close to 30% on their electric bill.

Alternative energy and energy efficiency technologies are green technology that are becoming very popular among global investors. To urgently solve the nation's energy dilemma, demand response systems stand out for being here now. What was once futuristic is now proven technology that will make an immediate impact on our goal towards a smart grid, energy conservation, and energy efficiencies. With the economic crisis we are in, can you think of a better technology that will have as much overall global positive effect? We are going into the next economic phase which will change the world. Can you read between the lines? I think I will invest in energy technologies now.