Demand Response Program Services

Clean Power Alliance of Southern California (CPA) is seeking proposals from qualified and experienced contractors to provide comprehensive demand response program services for residential and business customers. The program includes a distributed energy resource management system (DERMS), customer interface, end-to-end customer experience, incentive payments, and program reporting dashboards.

The Power Response Program is a year-round, event-based demand response initiative currently offering three participation pathways: Power Response Home (behavioral pathway for residential customers), Power Response Smart Home (automated pathway with networked smart devices), and Commercial Leaders (for business and public sector customers). The selected proposer will implement and manage the existing program with approximately three million residents and businesses across 38 local agencies in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties, with enrollment targets of 3,000 residential customers, 30-45 commercial customers, and 150 small/medium business accounts over the three-year term.

Key dates include: RFP Release on April 3, 2026; Round 1 questions deadline April 16, 2026 with responses April 23, 2026; Round 2 questions deadline May 4, 2026 with responses May 11, 2026; Proposal deadline June 2, 2026 by 4:00 PM Pacific Time; Evaluation period June 3-26, 2026; Potential interviews June 29-July 17, 2026; Notice of Intent to Award July 20, 2026; Contract negotiations July 20-August 14, 2026; Protest deadline August 21, 2026; and Board approval anticipated September 3, 2026 with contract commencement September 4, 2026.

The proposer must demonstrate experience implementing and scaling mass market demand response programs, managing DERMS platforms, optimizing distributed energy resources for load modification, and managing OEM relationships. The program objectives include load flexibility to support grid operations and reduce energy costs, customer affordability through incentives and transparency, accessibility through multiple participation pathways in multiple languages, and superior customer experience with clear communications and easy-to-redeem rewards.