The following video from Lawrence Berkeley National Labs provides some insights into Demand Response.

Open ADR from Berkeley Lab ETA on Vimeo.

The Demand Response Research Center (DRRC) at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory worked with California and the nation to develop an open standards communication specification for the automation of electricity demand response.

This specification, known as Open Automated Demand Response (OpenADR), provides a non-proprietary interface that lets electricity providers send signals about electricity price and system grid reliability directly to customers over networks such as the Internet. The signals can be manual or automated. OpenADR supports interoperability among control equipment and energy markets, and cuts costs for providers and consumers.

The OpenADR specification is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Institute of Standards and Technology Smart Grid Interoperability Standards effort.

More information at drrc.lbl.gov/