When a heat wave gripped California a couple of months ago, authorities sent out tweets and texts urging businesses and consumers to reduce their energy use to help utilities and other power providers avoid blackouts. That was an example of demand response. And guess what? It worked.James Muraca, the Chief Technology Officer at Enersponse, joins the show to explain how demand response can be automated and why it doesn't take a heat wave or some other kind of crisis for demand response to pay dividends. After all, demand response is when businesses and consumers shift their electricity usage during any peak periods. James outlines how automation and other demand response technologies are making grids more reliable and cleaner. That's right ... cleaner. Not only can demand response help consumers take advantage of time-based rates or other forms of financial incentives, but advances in automation allow businesses and consumers to use more of their energy when the grid is generating more power from renewables. So demand response helps the grid go green and helps businesses and consumers save some green.Key highlights2:34 - What is Demand Response?5:36 - The impact of the Inflation Reduction Act on Demand Response7:55 - What new technologies are on the way when it comes to Demand Response9:41 - The role of Demand Response during extreme weather and other crises13:37 - What are the Price Response and Clean Response programs?15:05 - How Demand Response can make the grid cleaner16:13 - Demand Response and grid resiliency17:04 - Demand Response as an ESG reporting tool18:38 - Bold predictionsABS Quality Evaluations Global Leader in Certified PerformanceSign up for the Renewable Energy SmartBriefFollow the show on Twitter @RenewablesPod