Load Participation Program

Load reduction programs provide the ERCOT market with valuable reliability and economic services by acting as a means of preserving system reliability, enhancing competition, mitigating unwarranted price spikes, and encouraging the demand side of the market to respond better to wholesale price signals.

In collaboration with market participants, ERCOT has developed a number of load reduction programs for businesses and institutions that have the ability to curtail electricity use. These demand-side resources, or loads, may participate in the ERCOT market directly – through the bid process in the ERCOT market – or indirectly – through the voluntary reduction of load during high-demand, high-price time periods.

For a business or institution, participating in an ERCOT demand-side program is somewhat more complicated than just signing up for a tariff or utility program with a retail electric provider (REP). Find out more about the Loads Acting as a Resource (LaaR), Emergency Interruptible Load Service (EILS), Balancing Up Load (BUL) and Voluntary Load Reduction programs, which are available to be contracted through customers' REPs or qualified scheduling entities (QSEs).