As Summer Winds Down, a Look at Residential Demand Response Leaders

Summer 2017 was relatively light from a demand response (DR) perspective in North America—aside from California, which saw extreme heat waves. There were not a lot of opportunities to test the capabilities of DR resources that utilities, regional transmission organizations, and retail electric providers had stockpiled to prepare for high load levels or energy prices. However, there was still plenty of merger and acquisition (M&A), technology development and new program design activity taking place.

Guidehouse Insights took this opportunity to compile a Leaderboard that examines the current vendor landscape for residential DR (RDR). The report analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of the key players in this global industry and displays those rankings visually in the Guidehouse Insights Leaderboard Grid. This Leaderboard utilized broad guidelines to determine which market participants should be included to allow for companies that offer hardware and/or software and focus on technology or include program implementation services.

The Guidehouse Insights Leaderboard Grid

(Source: Guidehouse Insights)

This Leaderboard evaluated 15 companies based on 10 criteria to determine which competitors are Leaders, Contenders, Challengers, or Followers in the market. As the global RDR market has heated up in recent years, leading companies have invested heavily to develop their capabilities and strategy. There are a number of companies focused on other aspects of the smart grid arena now beginning to tackle the DR space, as well as many startup companies with new hardware and software offerings that take advantage of the plethora of available energy data and communication options for devices and customer messaging. Some of the incumbent RDR vendors are finding that they need to partner with these new players to keep pace with the changing marketplace.

The RDR industry is still maturing relative to the energy industry in general, but great strides have been made in turning DR into an operational resource for grid operators. In addition, this report combines both software and hardware offerings, as well as technology providers and program implementation services, which are all different segments that require diverse skill sets. Few companies attempt to serve all sides, thereby offering a complete solution.

As Guidehouse Insights has published a series of DR-related Leaderboards over the past few years, it has been interesting to see the high level of new players and new technologies that enter the market on a regular basis. By the time the next is published, I expect to see more companies come on to the radar screen and disrupt the market, along with more M&As as successful startups are swallowed up by large energy players looking to expand their reach in the space.