<p>Traditionally, in a grid-powered electricity system, consumers are perceived as passive end-users. However, engaged and active consumers are necessary to capture the maximum—social, economic and environmental—benefit from grid investments and improvements.</p>
<p>A partnership between the utility and consumer can lead to increased local generation and load response, reduced energy use and peak demand and increased customer satisfaction. Empowered with usage information, pricing and supply options, new technologies and innovative products, customers can make informed decisions about their energy use and better participate in conservation, demand response and other ancillary services.</p>
<p>PEER outlines a comprehensive approach for engaging consumers and enabling customer contribution for a more responsive, clean and reliable electrical grid.</p>
<h3>Customer Contribution</h3>
<p>The credits in the PEER Customer Contribution <a href="http://peer.gbci.org/peer" target="_blank">credit category</a> address</p>
<ul>
<li>Data privacy and cyber security guidelines for protecting consumer and operator data.</li>
<li>Consumer choice in tools and suppliers.</li>
<li>Access to real-time data, dynamic pricing options, financial incentives, and consumer engagement programs.</li>
<li>Policies and processes for net metering, interconnection and aggregation.</li>
<li>Local or demand-side capabilities for renewable generation, clean power generation and demand response.</li>
</ul>
<p>Check out our other articles about the four PEER credit categories:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://peer.gbci.org/introduction-peer-energy-efficiency-and-environmen…; target="_blank">Energy Efficiency and Environment</a></li>
<li><a href="http://peer.gbci.org/introduction-peer-reliability-and-resiliency-elect…; target="_blank">Reliability and Resiliency</a></li>
<li><a href="http://peer.gbci.org/introduction-peer-operational-effectiveness" target="_blank">Operational Effectiveness</a></li>
</ul>
<!-- BEGIN KAPOST ANALYTICS CODE --><script type="text/javascript">
<!--//--><![CDATA[// ><!--
<!--
var _kaq = _kaq || [];
_kaq.push([2, "5813a8639b3aab8ac2000281", "581a031923d431300d000175"]);
(function(){
var ka = document.createElement("script"); ka.async=true; ka.id="ka_tracker";
ka.src = (document.location.protocol == "https:" ? "https" : "http") + "://analytics.kapost.com/ka.js";
var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ka, s);
})();
//-->
//--><!]]>
</script><!-- END KAPOST ANALYTICS CODE -->