Demand Response 101: Program Foundations

Published: March 12, 2026 • Beginner • 12 min read

What Demand Response Does

Demand response (DR) programs reduce or shift customer load during targeted grid conditions. In practice, DR acts as a dispatchable flexibility resource that supports reliability, congestion management, and cost control.

Core Program Roles

• System or market operator: Signals DR needs and defines performance requirements.
• Utility / load-serving entity: Operates the customer-facing program.
• Aggregator / CSP: Coordinates portfolios of enrolled sites and resources.
• Participant site: Delivers measured reduction or load shift against baseline expectations.

Event Lifecycle (Operational View)

1. Enrollment and qualification: Resource capability, metering quality, and communication readiness are validated.
2. Dispatch notification: Participants receive event start time, duration, and instructions.
3. Response execution: Site controls or operators reduce / shift load.
4. Measurement and verification: Actual telemetry is compared against an approved baseline.
5. Settlement: Performance is translated into financial outcomes per tariff or market rules.

Performance Depends on Data Discipline

Three controls are especially important for reliable DR settlement and auditability:

• Consistent interval telemetry with duplicate timestamp prevention.
• Baseline methodology appropriate for the program and participant load shape.
• Same-day adjustment rules with explicit caps and transparent calculations.

Implementation Checklist

• Define event window, baseline method, and exclusion rules.
• Set telemetry QA thresholds (coverage, interval consistency, timezone alignment).
• Validate communications path (for example OpenADR VEN/VTN interoperability).
• Maintain auditable exports for baseline, adjustments, and candidate selection.

Source Context

This article is adapted from workshop-style DR educational content, including the MISO presentation linked below, and reframed for GridMango operators.

MISO Demand Response 101 Workshop Presentation (May 10, 2024)