Customer FAQ

Information in this FAQ for the San Diego Gas & Electric^® (SDG&E^®) Emergency Load Reduction Program (ELRP) may change, in whole or in part, subject to California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approval.

General Questions

What is ELRP?

The Emergency Load Reduction Program (ELRP) is a seven-year pilot program administered by San Diego Gas & Electric^® that offers participants financial incentives to reduce energy usage or export energy during times of high grid stress and emergencies, with the goal of avoiding rotating outages. Participants earn $2 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) reduced during ELRP events.

Unlike other demand response programs, ELRP allows for limited dual participation for customers enrolled in SDG&E’s Critical Peak Pricing (CPP). In addition, this program is unique in its voluntary nature as there are no penalties for non-performance. For customers capable of export, the program incentivizes the export of energy for participants with a behind-the-meter Rule 21-interconnected device with an existing Rule 21 export permit.
I have seen references to ELRP group numbers (A.1, A.2, B.1, etc.). What are those?
ELRP consists of two groups (A and B), each with multiple subgroups.

Individual customers may participate in the subgroups below:

A.1: Open to individual non-residential customers who can reduce at least 1 kW during an ELRP event.

A.3: Open to individual customers with Rule 21 exporting distributed energy resources (DERs) that can generate at least 25 kW

Aggregators may participate in subgroups A.2, A.4, A.5, B.1, or B.2.

For more information about aggregator and third-party DRP subprograms, please see the Aggregator / DRP FAQ.
Who is Olivine?

Program Questions

How will the ELRP help in times of grid emergencies?

Participants in the ELRP will reduce energy usage during times of high grid stress and emergencies, with the goal of avoiding rotating power outages while minimizing costs to customers. The ELRP is to be utilized for system-wide California Independent System Operator (CAISO) grid reliability needs and will not be used for localized grid needs (i.e., transmission and distribution) by SDG&E.
What are the benefits of participating in the ELRP?
Is the use of prohibited resources to respond to an ELRP event permitted?
If the service agreement is in a disadvantaged community, a participant may not use back-up generation to achieve incremental load reduction if the back-up generation is designated as a Prohibited Resource per California Public Utilities Commission Resolution E-4906. If the service agreement is not located in a disadvantaged community, the participant may only utilize the prohibited resource to achieve incremental load reduction during an ELRP event when permitted by a Governor’s Executive Order and in compliance with Rule 21 and other applicable regulations and permits, including those imposed by the local air district.

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.

Review the CalEnviroScreen Disadvantaged Communities Map to see the areas classified as disadvantaged communities.

The following list of back-up generation resources are defined as prohibited in either topping cycle combined heat and power or non-combined heat and power configuration:

Diesel-powered distributed generation technologies

Natural gas

Gasoline

Propane

Liquefied petroleum gas

The use of prohibited resources during a test event is not permitted and should not be compensated.
Can I export energy during an ELRP event?
How do I unenroll from the ELRP?
What is the term of the ELRP?

The ELRP was ordered by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) in rulemaking 20-11-003, Order Instituting Rulemaking to Establish Policies, Processes, and Rules to Ensure Reliable Electric Service in California in the Event of an Extreme Weather Event in 2021. Specifically, Decision 21-03-056 laid out the requirements for SDG&E to implement the ELRP by May 1, 2021. Subsequent Decisions 21-06-027, D.21-12-015 and D.23-12-005 made modifications to the ELRP. The ELRP program has been approved through 2027.

Enrollment Questions

What information do I need to enroll?
To complete the ELRP enrollment process, individual customers will need to provide:

San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E^®) account number and service address

An email address or phone number associated with the account

Contact Information (name, email, and phone)

Whether any of the meters you are enrolling have a back-up generator, including prohibited resources, and Rule 21 Export or Non-Export Interconnection Agreement

A Rule 21 Export Interconnection Agreement is required if you would like to be compensated for exports

Email address for ELRP event notifications

Your nomination(s), or expected load reduction in kilowatts (kW) during events for each meter

Email address for authorized signer of the Terms and Conditions (if you are not authorized)

How long will it take to verify my enrollment?
How will I know when I’m enrolled?
What is a nomination in the ELRP?

A nomination is the estimated target load reduction quantity in kilowatts (kW) for an ELRP event. Nominations are required for individual customers enrolled in the ELRP. The nomination for each meter must be for at least 1 kW of load reduction. Participation in ELRP events is entirely voluntary and no financial penalties will result from not meeting or from exceeding the nomination.

If you specify you would like to be compensated for exports during enrollment and have a behind-the-meter Rule 21 interconnected device with export capability and a Rule 21 export agreement, your load reduction nomination for the exporting meter should include any exports.

Nominations may be updated at any time by contacting [email protected].
What are the differences between enrolling with SDG&E instead of an aggregator/third-party demand response provider?

You can choose to enroll with SDG&E, an aggregator, or a third-party DR provider.

SDG&E offers an online application for individual customers. Once reviewed and confirmed, you may receive emails and/or text notifications from SDG&E to reduce your energy use in response to ELRP events. If you’re able to successfully reduce your energy use, you will receive a bill credit based on your energy savings.

If you want to enroll with an aggregator, you will have to first join an aggregation which the aggregator enrolls in the ELRP. You will receive event dispatches and payments directly from the aggregator, rather than from SDG&E. Aggregators have different enrollment processes, so you should reach out to them directly if you are interested in joining their aggregation. In some cases, if you have a Distributed Energy Resource (e.g. battery energy storage, EV chargers, etc.) installed, your equipment provider may offer you an opportunity to join their aggregation. For information on aggregators registered with the California Public Utilities commission, please consult this website. Note that not all of these aggregators are participating in the ELRP.
What are the Terms and Conditions?

Questions about ELRP Events

When will an event be scheduled?

What happens if I don’t respond to an ELRP event?
How many times will I be called to respond to an event?
The annual dispatch limit is up to 60 hours per season. The ELRP program availability is from May through October each year, seven days a week, from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Events may be called on consecutive days, depending on grid conditions, and durations vary by subgroup as follows:

Subgroups A1, A2, A3, B1, B2: 1-5 hours

Subgroups A4, A5: 1-3 hours
Are there test events?

If an ELRP event or dispatch does not occur during the season, SDG&E will conduct one two-hour test event per year for individually enrolled customers. Individual customers, except for those relying exclusively on prohibited resources, may participate in the test events. The use of prohibited resources during a test event is not permitted and will not be compensated. Load reduction delivered during an ELRP test event is eligible for compensation.
When will I be notified of an event?
What does an ELRP event email notification look like?

The event notification email includes the event date, time, duration, and list of the meters enrolled in the ELRP. The event notification is sent via email and text to the email address provided at time of enrollment plus any additional email addresses and/or phone numbers added after the enrollment.

Email event notifications are sent from [email protected], as shown in the sample email notification below:

Questions about Payments

How much money will I earn?
How are performance payments calculated for individual enrolled customers?
Performance payments for individual enrolled customers are calculated at the service agreement level by multiplying interruptible load for reliability (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 individual enrolled non-residential customers is calculated using the following method:

Calculate the Customer Specific Energy Baseline (CSEB) – A Customer service account must have at least 10 similar days of interval meter data available in SDG&E’s billing system to have a valid CSEB. Only the hourly average usage for the hours included in the event will be included in the CSEB determination. The CSEB and Adjusted CSEB (ACSEB) will all be calculated at the service account level. If the ELRP event occurs on a non-holiday weekday the CSEB will be calculated on an hourly basis using the average of the ten (10) preceding similar non-holiday weekdays If the ELRP event occurs on a weekend or holiday the CSEB and will be calculated on an hourly basis using the average of the four (4) preceding similar weekend or holiday days.

Calculate the Day-Of Adjustment (DOA) – A DOA shall not be less than 1.00 or greater than 1.40. The DOA is a ratio of (a) the average load of the first three hours of the four hours prior to the ELRP Event to (b) the average load of the same hours from the similar days used to calculate the CSEB in step 1 above. If either a or b are negative the DOA is equal to 1.

Calculate the Adjusted Customer Specific Energy Baseline (ACSEB) – An account’s ACSEB for an ELRP event hour is calculated by multiplying the CSEB by the DOA. If the CSEB is negative, then the ACSEB is set equal to the CSEB.
How and when will I get paid?

Individual customers enrolled in the ELRP will be compensated for their participation in ELRP events in the form of a bill credit applied in the first quarter of the following year.

If you are participating in the ELRP through an aggregator or a third-party demand response provider, please contact your aggregator or demand response provider for information on the form of payments and on the timing of receiving payments for participating in the ELRP.

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