While program structures differ across markets, the consistent need for flexible energy use during peak demand events makes automation and demand-side solutions increasingly valuable.
The Future of Energy Demand is Flexible
Q&A with Molly Jerrard, Head of Flexibility | Enel North America
Tell us about yourself and your role with Enel.
I’m the Head of Flexibility at Enel North America, where I oversee our demand response business across the United States and Canada. I’ve been in the energy sector for more than 13 years, starting at EnerNOC, which was acquired by Enel in 2017. Since then, I’ve held several roles within the company focused on energy markets and product development. I joined the leadership team in 2022.
Demand response, or DR, compensates energy users for targeted reductions in their electricity consumption during periods of grid stress, and uses those reductions to balance the electric system. What drew me to demand response early on is how dynamic and innovative it is. It’s where energy markets, customer needs, regulatory policy, and technology all intersect. It’s also a critical part of the clean energy transition because it avoids the use of expensive fossil-powered peaker plants. The work we do helps our customers support the grid, earn revenue, and meet their own sustainability goals. That combination of impact and innovation is what motivates me every day.
What inspired the development of FlexUp, and how does it enhance traditional demand response programs?
FlexUp came out of listening to the customers we work with which are all commercial and industrial, and looking at where the energy markets are going. A lot of companies wanted to increase their participation in demand response, but they were hitting barriers. Some companies couldn’t respond to demand response events quickly enough. Some were finding it challenging to implement energy reductions manually during events. Others had a building management system (BMS), but it was aging and not suitable for demand response. In many cases, customers couldn’t justify the upfront investment to upgrade an existing BMS or install a new one from scratch.
Markets also need more and more flexibility from loads. Traditional demand response is evolving to be not just “emergency only” but truly something we need daily to help balance our evolving system. This evolution cannot be achieved without more automation.
So we built FlexUp to solve those challenges. FlexUp allows customers to install or upgrade their building management systems with no out-of-pocket cost. Enel covers the equipment and installation, and the customer repays us using their demand response earnings over time. That financing model removes a major up-front roadblock.
What really makes FlexUp different is how it connects automation with revenue opportunity. Customers aren’t just upgrading equipment. They’re unlocking new, lucrative value streams, improving overall operational performance, and supporting grid reliability in a smarter, faster way.
How does it integrate with existing energy systems, and what kind of participation or setup is required from customers?
The process is very customer-friendly. It starts with an evaluation where we look at how we can improve a facility’s DR capacity and performance by leveraging automation. We often work with Honeywell as our BMS partner, but we’re also able to collaborate with a customer’s preferred vendor if needed.
Once the scope and cost are clear, Enel pays the upfront costs and handles coordination with the installer. After the system is live, it’s configured to respond to DR signals automatically. Customers still retain full ownership and control of their building systems.
This is especially useful for companies that want to participate in fast-response or ancillary DR programs but don’t have the staffing to manage manual curtailments. With automation, events can be handled in seconds without pulling staff away from core operations.
Can you share a real-world example where it made a measurable impact on grid reliability or customer performance?
One of the best examples is a paper mill in the Northeast that was interested in participating in DR but could only partially curtail their load because their equipment wasn’t automated. We worked with them to upgrade their BMS, about a $250,000 project. The new system allowed for more precise control, which let them curtail an additional 2 megawatts. They paid off the upgrade within two years and now earn over $150,000 annually through demand response programs. Plus, they gained better visibility into their energy use, which helped improve operations overall.
We’ve also worked with a large hospital in Illinois that wanted to make their generator dispatch more reliable. After upgrading their controls and enabling remote dispatch capabilities through FlexUp, they saw a big improvement in both their DR performance and internal energy resilience. They earned over $600,000 across five years and repaid the project costs well within that timeframe.
What role does automation play in the future of demand management?
Automation is going to be a cornerstone of how demand-side flexibility evolves. The grid is becoming more dynamic, with more frequent and faster-changing peaks due to renewables and electrification. That means fast, precise, and reliable demand response is more important than ever, and you can’t do that at scale without automation.
With automation, a facility can respond within seconds to DR dispatches, without requiring human intervention or operational disruption. Automating DR increases participation, improves performance, and opens the door to higher-value programs like ancillary services. It also makes DR more accessible to organizations that may not have the time or resources to manually manage load curtailment during events.
In short, automation unlocks the speed and scale that demand management needs to thrive in a cleaner, more flexible grid.
As grid volatility becomes more common, how does this approach contribute to both resilience and decarbonization goals?
Programs like FlexUp give customers the ability to be a grid resource, not just energy consumers. By reducing or shifting load at critical moments, they’re helping to stabilize the grid without requiring new fossil fuel generation. That supports decarbonization efforts by minimizing the need for peaker plants and reducing overall emissions during peak events.
At the same time, customers benefit from improved resilience. With automated systems in place, they’re better prepared to handle grid emergencies and can ensure more reliable operation of critical systems. Whether it’s a manufacturing facility protecting uptime or a hospital ensuring power continuity, FlexUp strengthens the operational side while delivering environmental value.
This dual benefit, increased reliability and reduced carbon impact, is exactly what grid operators, utilities, and regulators are looking for as they modernize infrastructure and move toward cleaner energy systems.
What regulatory or market trends are creating the right conditions for solutions like this to thrive across North America?
Enel participates in a wide range of demand response programs across North America, working with grid operators and utilities in regions such as PJM, ERCOT, NYISO, ISO-NE, CAISO, the IESO in Ontario, and others. These programs vary in structure and response requirements, but all support the broader goal of improving grid reliability through flexible customer participation.
FlexUp is designed to help commercial and industrial customers participate more effectively in these existing programs. By removing the upfront cost of automation upgrades and simplifying participation through automation, FlexUp enables more customers to engage with demand response opportunities already available in their region.
While program structures differ across markets, the consistent need for flexible energy use during peak demand events makes automation and demand-side solutions increasingly valuable.
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Molly Jerrard is Head of Flexibility for Enel North America, overseeing Enel’s Demand Response business line in the US and Canada. Enel is the largest global Demand Response provider in the world.
Molly has over 13 years of experience in Demand Response, coming to Enel through an acquisition of Boston based Demand Response leader, EnerNOC in 2017. She has a passion for carbon-free energy and sees Demand Response as a captivating area of focus – it is the intersection of customers, markets, regulators, utilities, and data. She truly believes that if we as Enel can lead the energy transition and be successful, our net-zero climate goals as a society are within reach.
Molly has had various positions at Enel primarily on the Energy Markets team in portfolio management and new product launch. She has been part of the Enel leadership team since 2022 and helped our Demand Response offering evolve into not just “emergency DR” but to include advanced flexibility solutions such as Ancillary Services participation, Asset Management services, and VPP integrations. The Enel Demand Response business now offers over 4.7 GW of capacity in North America.
She is a Cornell University graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Government. In her spare time she enjoys being outside in nature as much as possible, yoga, and connecting near and far with friends and family.
The content & opinions in this article are the author’s and do not necessarily represent the views of AltEnergyMag
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