Policy Goals
The Demand Response and Advanced Metering Coalition (DRAM) is an ad hoc coalition of public interest groups, technology companies, metering companies, utilities, and other parties. It advocates increased use of advanced metering and communications technology to support demand response programs and to provide energy companies and energy consumers with time-of-day usage information they can use to efficiently and cost-effectively provide and use energy.
DRAM Supports:
1. Giving Americans access to energy information that will
enable all consumers to:
make informed decisions about electricity usage. participate in demand response programs that can reduce the burden of electricity costs
save on electric bills by using electricity during off-peak periods,
receive the full value of alternative energy and energy efficiency products that reduce demand during more expensive on-peak periods,
be rewarded for managing their energy usage in a way that contributes to the efficient use of generating resources, and
undertake informed energy efficiency actions in their homes and businesses and receive personal, timely feedback that reinforces and sustains these activities.
2. Accelerating the capture of demand response and
advanced metering benefits through financial incentives
that help offset the cost of advanced meters and advanced
metering devices; such incentives could include
tax credits, accelerated depreciation or other mechanisms.
3. Ensuring that implementation costs for investments in
advanced meters and advanced metering devices are
recoverable under regulatory policy.
4. Using existing national technical standards and existing
data protocols to minimize equipment, data
communications, and data management costs.
5. Promoting the development and implementation of, and
voluntary participation in, price-based demand response
programs that optimize electricity system planning and
operations and increase end-use energy
efficiency.
6. Requiring that Federal facilities be individually metered or
submetered using metering technology capable
of recording usage hourly and providing data daily.
