In a direct load control system supporting frequency control of an electrical grid, at each electrical load of an aggregation of loads, a load status report is generated comprising an urgency value and a power level. At an aggregation dispatch controller, a dispatch signal is generated based on the generated load status reports and information indicative of electrical frequency. At each electrical load of the aggregation, the load is operated at the reported power level if the reported urgency value satisfies the dispatch signal and is not operated at the reported power level if the reported urgency value does not satisfy the dispatch signal.