Demand Charges
If you are a customer with an electricity demand greater than 35 kilowatts (kW), your electricity is based on energy use and energy demand.
Why is there a charge for electrical energy demand?
When a customer requires a large supply of electricity, even for a brief period, our system has to deliver. Because of these requirements, users of electricity at 35 kW and over are charged for demand (rate of consumption) as well as for energy use (total consumption).
Your peak demand for each billing period is recorded by your electricity meter and a demand charge is included on your electricity bill. By distributing your daily demand more equitably over time, you can reduce your bill.
Manage your energy demand and save
By pinpointing when your maximum demand occurs during the day, you'll be able to determine what contributes to high demand and where savings can be made.
Let's assume the chart illustrates a typical profile of your daily electrical use. Your lighting, heating, ventilation and security lights operate 24 hours a day. Your equipment begins operating at 6:00 am, with more equipment activated until 11:00 am when peak demand is reached. The peak falls off significantly during the noon lunch break, but power demand resumes after lunch until a second peak is reached at 2:00 pm. When your facility closes at 4:00 pm, there is a significant reduction in demand.
You can achieve savings by "shaving the peaks" of your energy demand. To do this, you need to shift a portion of the electrical load operating at peak times of the day to non-peak times. Instead of having 10 machines operating at 11:00 am, you would have two operating at 10:00 am, six at 11:00 am and two at 1:00 pm.
