Customer FAQ

Information in this Emergency Load Reduction Program (ELRP) FAQ may change, in whole or in part, subject to California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approval.

General Questions

What is ELRP?
Southern California Edison’s (SCE) Emergency Load Reduction Program (ELRP) is a flexible Demand Response (DR) program. When you participate in ELRP, not only do you conserve energy and help the environment, but you also receive financial incentives to use less energy during grid emergencies. While you’re relieving stress on the grid to help prevent power shortages in your community, you’ll earn $2 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) reduced during ELRP events, with zero penalties if you can’t participate.

ELRP is unique in that it allows dual participation for non-residential customers with third-party DR providers (DRPs) as well as those enrolled in:

Agricultural & Pumping Interruptible (AP-I)

Summer Discount Plan for Commercial customers (SDP-C)

Critical Peak Pricing (CPP)

Real Time Pricing (RTP)

Base Interruptible Program (BIP)*

Capacity Bidding Program (CBP)**

* If you are enrolled in the Base Interruptible Program (BIP) through an aggregator and they choose to not enroll in ELRP, you may be able to enroll in ELRP A.1. as long as your Firm Service Level can be determined.

**If your CBP aggregator has enrolled in ELRP, you will be eligible to participate through your CBP aggregator. If you are enrolled in CBP directly through SCE, you will not be able to participate in ELRP.

Eligible Net Energy Metering (NEM) customers that can export energy and have existing Rule 21 export permits, may be eligible for incremental load reduction during ELRP events.

ELRP also allows dual participation for customers if they are enrolled in CPP or RTP. Customers cannot dual-participate if they are already enrolled in a Demand Response program through a third party demand response provider (DRP).
What are ELRP group numbers A.1, A.2, A.3, A.4, A.5, A6, B.1, and B.2?
ELRP is divided into two groups, Group A and Group B. As listed below, Group A has six subgroups, and Group B has two subgroups. Please refer to the “Who is eligible for ELRP?” question for more information about program eligibility requirements.

Each subgroup has different eligibility criteria, giving customers different channels for ELRP participation; however, customers can only participate in one subgroup at a time.

Group A includes participation options for customers and aggregators:

Non-residential customers (A.1) – Non-residential (commercial, industrial, and agricultural) individual SCE bundled-service customers, Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) Service customers, and Direct Access customers. Dual participation allowed with: BIP, AP-I, SDP-Commercial, CPP, and RTP.

Non-residential aggregators (A.2) – Third-party, non-residential aggregators—including those participating in SCE’s

Rule 21 exporting DERs (A.3) – Non-residential (commercial, industrial, and agricultural) individual SCE bundled-service customers, Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) Service customers, and Direct Access customers with a Rule 21 Exporting Distributed Energy Resource (DER).

Virtual Power Plant (VPP) aggregators (A.4) – Third-party aggregators managing a behind-the-meter (BTM) hybrid Virtual Power Plant (VPP) consisting of storage paired with NEM solar or stand-alone storage deployed with residential (bundled or unbundled) or non-residential (bundled or unbundled) customers. Dual participation allowed with SDP-Residential and SEP when using sub-metered data to calculate performance.

Vehicle Grid Integration (VGI) aggregators (A.5) – An aggregation consisting of any combination of electric vehicles and charging stations, also known as Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) – including those that are capable of managed one-way charging (V1G) and bi-directional charging and discharging (V2G) deployed with residential (bundled or unbundled) or non-residential (bundled or unbundled) customers. Dual participation allowed with SDP-Residential and SEP when using sub-metered data to calculate performance.

Power Saver Rewards Program for Residential Customers (A.6)

Group B includes DR providers participating in market-integrated supply-side (DR) programs

Third-party DRPs (B.1) – Third-party Demand Response Providers (DRP) with a market-integrated Proxy Demand resource (PDR).

CBP aggregators (B.2) – Third-party aggregators (Aggregators) participating in SCE’s Capacity Bidding Program (CBP).
Who is Olivine?

Olivine, Inc. is a California-based company focused on helping the state meet its ambitious renewable energy and greenhouse gas reduction goals. Olivine is the ELRP Program Implementer, providing the pilot’s infrastructure and program management. To learn more, visit olivineinc.com
Who is eligible for ELRP?

Non-residential (commercial, industrial, and agricultural) individual SCE bundled-service customers, Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) Service customers, and Direct Access customers are eligible to enroll directly in ELRP. Customers must have an SCE approved interval meter and is not simultaneously enrolled in another supply-side demand response (DR) program offered by an IOU, third-party demand response provider (DRP), or Community Choice Aggregator (CCA), with the exception of SCE’s BIP, Summer Discount Plan for Commercial Customers (SDP-C), AP-I, CPP, or RTP, in which dual participation is allowed. Dual Participation is not allowed with: Capacity Bidding Program (CBP), Demand Response Auction Mechanism (DRAM), and other market-integrated DR programs which are allowed under Group B.
Residential customers can enroll in the Power Saver Rewards Program.
BIP, CBP, VPP, and VGI aggregators, as well as third-party DRPs, may enroll. If you are enrolled with an aggregator or third-party DRP, please contact them for program information. If you are enrolled in BIP through an aggregator and your BIP Aggregator chooses not to enroll in ELRP, you may be able to directly enroll in A.1. as long as your Firm Service Level can be determined.

Program Questions

How does ELRP help during grid emergencies?

ELRP participants reduce energy when stress on the grid is at emergency levels. The program is designed to respond to system-wide California Independent System Operator (CAISO) grid reliability requirements – not to SCE’s local transmission and distribution grid needs.
How long will ELRP continue as a program?
Can prohibited resources be used in response to an ELRP event?
Prohibited Resources (PR) can only be used during ELRP events when permitted by a Governor’s Executive Order. Non-residential ELRP customers located in a disadvantaged community (DAC), as designated by SB 535, cannot use PR under the current program rules, unless specifically overridden by a Governor’s Executive Order. Under emergency situations, regulations may be temporarily lifted by a Governor’s Order to meet grid reliability needs; this was the case during the September 2022 heatwave. SCE will follow applicable California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and/or Governor orders during these events.

Non-residential ELRP participants who are dually enrolled in another DR program may use prohibited resources during ELRP events, but only to achieve incremental load reduction (ILR) beyond any existing commitments when specifically permitted by a Governor’s Executive Order.

These resources are defined as prohibited, in either topping cycle Combined Heat and Power (CHP) or non-CHP configuration:

Distributed generation technologies using diesel

Natural gas

Gasoline

Propane

Liquefied petroleum gas

Although prohibited resources may be used by eligible non-residential participants to respond to ELRP events (when permitted by a Governor’s Executive Order and in compliance with Rule 21 and other applicable regulations and permits), it is important to note that stationary back-up generators are often subject to air district requirements, which vary by air district and may include permitting requirements, emission limits, and operational restrictions. ELRP participants are solely responsible for all environmental and other regulatory requirements associated with operating their prohibited resources.

Disadvantaged communities are defined as (1) areas disproportionately affected by environmental pollution and other hazards that may lead to negative public health effects, exposure, or environmental degradation; and (2) areas with concentrations of people who are of low income, high unemployment, low levels of homeownership, high rent burden, sensitive populations, or low levels of educational attainment. CalEnviroScreen, an analytical tool created by the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA), combines different types of census tract-specific information into a score to determine which communities are the most burdened or “disadvantaged.” The Disadvantaged Communities Map shows areas classified as such by CalEnviroScreen. Disadvantaged communities are defined as the top 25% scoring areas from CalEnviroScreen, along with other areas with high amounts of pollution and low populations.

Using prohibited resources during test events is not permitted and will not be compensated.
May I export energy during ELRP events?
What are the benefits of participating in ELRP?

When you participate in ELRP, not only do you conserve energy and help the environment, but you also receive financial incentives to use less energy during grid emergencies. While you’re relieving stress on the grid to help prevent power shortages in your community, you’ll earn $2 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) reduced during ELRP events, with zero penalties if you can’t participate.

If you are enrolled with an aggregator or third-party DRP, please contact them for information on program benefits.

Enrollment Questions

What is the difference between direct enrollment and enrollment through an aggregator or third-party demand response provider (DRP)?

Direct enrollment refers to customers who initiate and complete the ELRP enrollment process with SCE directly. The General Questions section of the Customer FAQ covers direct enrollment eligibility requirements. Direct-enrolled customers receive notifications and any payments directly from the program. Aggregators and third-party demand response providers (DRPs) may also enroll their aggregations in ELRP. Customers that are enrolled with an aggregator or third-party DRP should contact their aggregator for information about the program. If you are enrolled in the Base Interruptible Program (BIP) through an aggregator and they choose to not enroll in ELRP, you will not be able to directly enroll.
What information do I need to have ready before I enroll?
If you’re directly enrolling in ELRP, you should have this information ready:

Business name (as it appears on your bill).

Service account number starting with 8.

Service address (as it appears on your bill).

The customer representative’s contact information (name, email, phone number).

Your load reduction nominations (in kilowatts or kW) for each service account.

The maximum nomination you submit should be no greater than the previous year’s peak usage on any given day. The minimum required nomination is 1 kW.

The email address you want to use to receive event notifications.

Indication if any service accounts you are enrolling have prohibited resources. If so, Customer Service will contact you to get more information after you submit an enrollment application.

Indication if any service accounts you are enrolling have Rule 21 export agreements, and if you are seeking compensation for exports.

Email address for authorized signer of the Terms and Conditions.
How long will it take to verify my enrollment?
How will I know when I’m enrolled?

If you directly enroll, once your enrollment is verified, a confirmation email will be sent to the email address you entered in the Contact Details section of your enrollment application.

If you enroll with an aggregator or third-party demand response provider (DRP), please contact them for your ELRP enrollment status.
I enrolled in ELRP last year. Do I have to re-enroll this year?
I am enrolled with an aggregator or third-party demand response provider (DRP). Am I eligible for ELRP?

Your aggregator or third-party demand response provider (DRP) may be eligible to enroll in ELRP. Please contact them for ELRP information. If you are enrolled in the Base Interruptible Program (BIP) through an aggregator and they choose not to enroll in ELRP, you will only be able to enroll in ELRP as long as your Firm Service Level can be determine.
What is an ELRP nomination?

A nomination is the estimated target load reduction quantity in kilowatts (kW) for an ELRP event. Nominations are required for non-residential customers directly enrolled in ELRP. The maximum nomination you submit should be no greater than the previous year’s summer on-peak demand. The minimum required nomination is 1 kW. Participation in ELRP events is entirely voluntary, and no financial penalties will result from not meeting or from exceeding your nomination amount. Event compensation is not impacted by nominations, but is rather determined by actual electricity usage compared to your site’s typical usage patterns.

Base Interruptible Program (BIP) customer nominations should be the incremental load reduction below their FSL.

If you want to be compensated for exports and have a behind-the-meter Rule 21 interconnected device with export capability and a permit, your load reduction nomination for the exporting service account should include any exports.

Nominations are used to estimate the program’s total expected load reduction. You may update your nomination any time by contacting support@elrp.sce.com.
Is it possible to virtually aggregate electrically-contiguous service accounts?

If you are a Rule 21 exporting distributed energy resource (DER) directly-enrolled customer (for example, a customer enrolled under ELRP Subgroup A.3), you may elect to use virtual aggregation when you enroll.

If you have control over multiple electrically-contiguous service accounts, you may be permitted to virtually aggregate the load and generation during ELRP dispatch hours only, to fully use the sum of the net export allowed by any Rule 21 permit(s) associated with the service accounts.

Two service accounts are considered electrically-contiguous when they get electricity service from the same utility distribution transformer secondary, and there are no devices on the utility distribution system that can interrupt power flow to only one service account. SCE reviews and approves virtual aggregation applications on a case-by-case basis.

If you are interested in virtually aggregating electrically-contiguous service accounts, please complete the Direct Customer Enrollment form and send an email to support@elrp.sce.com stating your interest. The ELRP team will contact you with more information.
How do I disenroll from ELRP?
What are the Terms and Conditions

Questions about ELRP Events

What will trigger an ELRP event?

Events are triggered by the “Energy Emergency Alert (EEA)” process defined by the California Independent Service Operator Operating Procedure 4420.
Day-ahead events are triggered by CAISO EEA Watch notifications, and Day-of events are triggered by CAISO EEA Watch and EEA-1, EEA-2, or EEA-3 notifications. Base Interruptible Program participants are only eligible for compensation for ELRP events that overlap with BIP event periods, and only the incremental reduction below the BIP pre-committed Firm Service Level (FSL) during the overlapping event window is compensated under the ELRP.
What happens if I don’t respond to an event?
How many times per year will I be asked to respond to events?

The annual dispatch limit is 60 hours per year. The ELRP pilot availability is from May 1 through October 31 each year, seven days a week, from 4 – 9 p.m. Events can last anywhere from one hour to five hours and may be called on consecutive days based on grid conditions.
Are ELRP test events conducted?

If an ELRP event or dispatch does not occur during the season, SCE will conduct one test event, with a two-hour duration, per year for direct-enrolled customers, who are required to participate in the tests, unless they rely exclusively on prohibited resources. Load reduced during test events is compensated, but using prohibited resources during tests is not allowed, and is not compensated.

Test requirements do not apply to Power Saver Rewards participants (ELRP subgroup A.6 – Residential customers).
When will I be notified of events?
Can ELRP events be modified or cancelled?

An ELRP event may be modified or cancelled in response to subsequent CAISO notices. SCE follows the hours specified in California Independent System Operator (CAISO) notices to determine ELRP event hours. Participants will be notified of any event updates or cancellations by email and/or text message.
What does an ELRP event email notification look like?

Event notification emails will include event date and start or end times. The exact email message may differ based on the participant and their subgroup. For example, the email to directly-enrolled Base Interruptible Program (BIP) customers and aggregators reminds them they are only compensated for overlapping ELRP/BIP events, and the email to third-party demand response providers (DRPs) states it is a courtesy notification. Customers provide an email address at the time of enrollment for event notifications. For more convenience, download SCE’s free Demand Response Alerts application to receive event notifications, or Olivine’s Climate Response app.

Email event notifications are sent from email@elrp.sce.com, as shown in the sample email notification below:

Questions about Payments

How much money will I earn by participating in ELRP?

During ELRP events, directly enrolled customers earn $2 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of incremental load reduced beyond any existing commitments.

If you participate in ELRP through an aggregator or third-party demand response provider (DRP), please contact them for information about ELRP financial incentives.
How are performance payments calculated for directly enrolled customers?
Performance payments for directly enrolled customers are calculated at the service agreement level by multiplying the incremental load reduction (ILR) by $2/kWh. The ILR is the load reduction achieved during an ELRP event incremental to the non-event applicable baseline and any other existing commitment.

The ELRP baseline for directly enrolled non-residential non-BIP customers is calculated using the following method:

Calculate the Customer Specific Energy Baseline (CSEB) – the CSEB is calculated on an hourly basis using the average of the immediate past similar days, excluding days when the customer: (1) was subject to an ELRP event or (2) an event for a dually-enrolled DR program (e.g. AP-I, SDP-Commercial), if applicable, or (3) was subject to a grid outage. For weekday events, the 10 non-excluded weekdays will be selected; for weekend and holiday events, the 4 non-excluded weekend and holiday days will be selected. If the customer elects to count exports in their ILR, the baseline calculation is modified to include net of exports. Critical Peak Pricing (CPP) and Real Time Pricing (RTP) event days will not be excluded from the similar day baseline.

Calculate the Day-Of Adjustment (DOA) – the DOA is a ratio of (a) the average usage of the first three hours of the four hours prior to the event to (b) the average load of the same hours from the days selected in accordance with Step 2 above. A DOA shall not be less than 0.60 or greater than 1.40. If either (a) or (b) are negative, the DOA is 1.0.

Calculate the Adjusted Customer Specific Energy Baseline (ACSEB) – when the CSEB is greater than zero, the ACSEB will be calculated by multiplying the CSEB by the DOA. There is no ACSEB when the CSEB is less than zero.

Performance payments are calculated by multiplying ILR by the ELRP Compensation Rate, which is set at $2/kWh. The ILR is calculated as the sum of the performance, positive and negative, for all hours during an ELRP Event, where performance is calculated by subtracting the recorded kWh from the service account’s ACSEB.

The ILR for Base Interruptible Program (BIP) participants is calculated by subtracting the load during the overlapping event window from the pre-committed FSL. BIP participants are only eligible for ELRP event periods that overlap with BIP event periods, and only the incremental reduction below the BIP pre-committed FSL during the overlapping event window is compensated under ELRP.

ELRP participants that are also enrolled in AP-I or SDP-Commercial can only receive an ELRP incentive for intervals when an ELRP Event does not coincide or overlap with an AP-I or SDP-C Event. Any ILR during overlapping ELRP and AP-I/SDP-C event hours are attributed to AP-I/SDP-C.
How and when will I get paid?

If you are directly enrolled, SCE will process your ELRP compensation for the season as a bill credit by March 31 of the following year.

If you participate in ELRP through an aggregator or a third-party demand response provider (DRP), please contact them for information on payments and timing.

Information in this Emergency Load Reduction Program (ELRP) FAQ may change, in whole or in part, subject to California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approval.

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