{"id":34238,"date":"2014-02-04T11:39:50","date_gmt":"2014-02-04T17:39:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/?p=34238"},"modified":"2014-02-04T14:37:13","modified_gmt":"2014-02-04T20:37:13","slug":"heres-who-in-texas-will-pay-you-to-use-less-power","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2014\/02\/04\/heres-who-in-texas-will-pay-you-to-use-less-power\/","title":{"rendered":"Here’s Who Will Pay You to Use Less Power in Texas"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"New<\/a>

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New thermostats like the Nest allow you to manage your home's energy use from your smartphone.<\/p><\/div>\n

There’s a heated debate <\/a>going on among state regulators and all over newspaper op-ed pages in Texas: Do we have enough power to meet the demand of our growing population? That answer largely depends on how to spin the latest forecasts and reports<\/a>, but what is clear is this: the state’s actual power demand hasn’t grown as fast as expected<\/a>.<\/p>\n

One big factor in that slowing consumption trend is something called demand response<\/a>, programs that get participants to use less power when supplies on the grid are tight, like during the hot Texas afternoons when air conditioners across the state are running full-time. Some utilities and power companies give rebates for using less power during that time, or to shift power use to other times of the day.<\/p>\n

These demand response programs are on the rise in Texas. In Austin, enough participants are expected this summer that the city is saving itself from using an entire power plant.<\/p>\n

So we’ve put together a list of the available programs we could find in Texas for demand response:<\/p>\n

Austin and San Antonio, which fall under regulated utilities, each have a program, while in most places outside of those two cities you can choose among several options from private power companies.<\/p>\n

AUSTIN<\/h4>\n

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