Washington, DC, U.S.A. --- (METERING.COM) --- March 16, 2010 - A coalition should be established to provide assistance to the United States federal government in implementing a national action plan on demand response, according to the draft plan.

Coalitions represent a way of harnessing the collective energy of a variety of individual organizations and yielding outcomes that have greater reach and depth than those organizations would achieve on their own.

Further, a panel of Coalition members, comprised of volunteer leaders from individual companies, organizations, and state and local governments, would assist an agency of the federal government, which would lead and fund implementation of the plan and make strategic and day‐to‐day decisions such as setting priorities and managing the budget.

The draft plan, which is being developed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), consists of strategies and activities to achieve the following three objectives:

• Identify requirements for technical assistance to states to allow them to maximize the amount of demand response resources that can be developed and deployed. Three areas of activity are foreseen, including organizing a panel of experts to inform the various constituencies of demand response, funding research activities, and establishing partnerships between state, local officials and other stakeholders and the federal agency to provide information and feedback on the plan.
• Design and identify requirements for implementation of a local and national communications program that includes broad‐based customer education and support.
• Develop or identify analytical tools, information, model regulatory provisions, model contracts, and other support materials for use by customers, states, utilities, and demand response providers. In particular two general categories of action are envisaged, a web‐based clearinghouse, and tools and methods for assessing the impacts, costs, benefits, and operation of demand response programs.

According to the draft plan, the National Action Plan is intended to be an action plan for the nation for implementation by states, localities, and regions. Although its recommended actions apply to the entire country, it recognizes, as Congress intended, the important role that state and local governments play in developing demand response. The coordinated efforts of federal, state, and local lawmakers and regulators are needed to enable achievement of the nation’s demand response potential.

This draft plan is a revision of an earlier discussion draft on possible elements for the national action plan, which was put out for public comment. Comments on the draft plan are now sought, and must be received by Thursday, April 8, 2010. The Commission will draw on the written comments received to finalize the plan.