Design of Demand Response Programs: Customer Preferences Experiences in Colombia

This paper presents the design and application of a research tool developed to identify preferences of users to participate in demand response (DR) programs. The proposed research tool was applied to the Colombian case discriminated in five different regions for industrial, commercial and residential uses. The results of the research tool evidenced the willingness of users to engage in DR programs if they are given the appropriate incentives (the most wanted incentive being a reduction of the electricity bill). The time of the day at which they would participate in such programs is mainly at night, in the range of 18h to 24h. It was also found that pedagogic programs would be needed since a high percentage of surveyed users do not even check their electricity meters, or only do it every month when the electricity bill comes.