ERCOT energy market rules, and the unique way Texas deregulated the retail electricity space, make Demand Response at scale very challenging relative to other states. This has been an issue in Texas for a long time, but now its critical they fix this. Its not the only change needed, but its the low hanging fruit that will move the needle substantially without a major capital investment.

DR is essentially incentivizing customers to use less energy, often with direct control of those loads through a connected thermostat or other device, to reduce the peaks.

Demand can no longer be inelastic for the grid to function efficiently. We need some flexibility on demand to help balance during peak consumption. Rolling blackouts suck, raising the temperature on thermostats a few degrees is almost imperceptible and consumers love the new thermostats and annual incentive checks.