KCP&L and ECS Announce Contract for Demand Response Partnership
October 2, 2007
BUFFALO, N.Y. and KANSAS CITY, Mo., Oct. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Energy Curtailment Specialists (ECS), the largest private demand response (DR) provider in the country headquartered in Buffalo, NY and Kansas City Power & Light (KCP&L), a full-service energy provider located in Kansas City, MO, have entered into a contract whereby ECS will provide a full range of DR services to KCP&L’s commercial and industrial customers in Missouri and Kansas.
Jason Jones, manager of DR programs at KCP&L, said the company chose ECS over other potential DR service providers because of their hands-on approach.
“ECS’ approach is to get down in the trenches with customers to understand their business and in turn help them understand and control their energy use,” Jones said. “The company’s expertise and overwhelming success in other markets is exactly what we are looking for in a demand response provider.”
ECS will help enroll commercial customers in KCP&L’s MPower program, a DR program that provides participants a substantial credit on their electric bill when they agree in advance to reduce electric use during times of peak demand.
These DR programs are a key component of KCP&L’s Comprehensive Energy Plan, the company’s long-term roadmap for providing sustainable, environmentally responsible energy to the Kansas City region.
DR services benefit program participants, utilities and the community by reducing peak electric demand, thereby delaying the need to build additional peaking power plants. By partnering with ECS, KCP&L anticipates reducing peak electric demand by 30 megawatts over one year, equal to the peak demand of 6,000 homes.
“Customers enrolled in the MPower program are paid in the range of $40 to $60 for every kilowatt of load that they commit to shed at KCP&L’s request. This benefits the entire Kansas City region. Instead of spending substantially more per kilowatt to build a peaking power plant that will run just a few hours each summer, we’re keeping those dollars in the local economy and in the hands of our customers,” said Jones.
“This is an exciting opportunity for our company because we are able to foster a program from its roots and get the entire community excited about the benefits of participating in a demand response and energy conservation program,” said Glen Smith, president, chief executive officer and co-founder of ECS.
About Energy Curtailment Specialists, Inc.
Energy Curtailment Specialists, Inc. is the largest privately held demand response provider in the United States. ECS offers turnkey, administrative and a la carte demand response services. For more information, call 877-711-5453 or visit www.ecsdemandresponse.com.
About Kansas City Power & Light
Headquartered in Kansas City, MO, KCP&L (www.kcpl.com) is a leading regulated provider of electricity in the Midwest. KCP&L is a wholly owned subsidiary of Great Plains Energy Incorporated (NYSE: GXP - News), the holding company for KCP&L and Strategic Energy, LLC, a competitive electricity supplier.
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