“We need to move from demand side as a regulatory paradigm to demand side as a market paradigm.” That line from Andy Frank perfectly captures where the conversation needs to go. Too many programs, including Texas' energy efficiency programs and ERCOT’s proposed residential DR program, are overly regulatory with fixed prices rather than market-based competition and price discovery. It's Lynne Kiesling's (and Hayek's) “knowledge problem”: no central planner has perfect information. Price signals solve the knowledge problem. That’s why competitive, market-based demand-side flexibility is potentially the killer app for reliability, resiliency, affordability, and sustainability. WattCarbon lays it out clearly: “Our current energy systems are sized for the hottest day of the year. Outside of that, the grid is underutilized. What we really need is to shift current peak load to non-peak times.” In Texas, I’d amend that to: “outside of really cold nights and hot evenings," the grid is underutilized. In Texas, solar has alleviated problems during the traditional 4–5 p.m. peak, but the principle remains. There are times of scarcity and, whenever those occur depending on region, climate, etc., and regardless of market structure, demand flexibility can scale to help meet the needs. Find the full piece and more on load growth, market design, and what’s next in ERCOT in this weeks Reading and Podcast Picks in the reply ➡️