Abstract

Reliant Energy Retail Services’ (Reliant) Smart Grid Enabled Consumer Participation project deploys new services and market offerings for retail customers in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) region. Reliant is deploying in-home energy displays, smart appliances, and new time-based rate programs to customers within the ERCOT region. Furthermore, Reliant will inform the customers about their energy usage patterns through a Web portal and individualized weekly usage emails. These services and products provide Reliant’s potential and existing customers with timely information and feedback about their electricity use, enabling them to optimize their energy usage and make informed choices. The project aims to provide customers with new information and services, which can lower their electricity costs and ultimately enable transmission and distribution service providers (TDSP) and independent power producers to optimize capital investment and their business operations. Due to Reliant’s position as a licensed retail energy provider within ERCOT, it will utilize the Smart Meter Texas (SMT) data exchange to obtain meter data and communicate energy usage information with the customers. The meter data is provided to the SMT data exchange by TDSPs: Oncor, CenterPoint Energy, and AEP Texas, which are currently deploying advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) throughout the ERCOT region.