Peak demand

See also: Load profile
Loch Mhor is used to generate hydro-electric energy at peak demand or in an emergency

Peak demand on an electrical grid is the highest electrical power demand that has occurred over a specified time period (Gönen 2008). Peak demand is typically characterized as annual, daily or seasonal and has the unit of power.[1] Peak demand, peak load or on-peak are terms used in energy demand management describing a period in which electrical power is expected to be provided for a sustained period at a significantly higher than average supply level. Peak demand fluctuations may occur on daily, monthly, seasonal and yearly cycles. For an electric utility company, the actual point of peak demand is a single half-hour or hourly period which represents the highest point of customer consumption of electricity. At this time there is a combination of office, domestic demand and at some times of the year, the fall of darkness.[2]

Some utilities will charge customers based on their individual peak demand. The highest demand during each month or even a single 15 to 30 minute period of highest use in the previous year may be used to calculate charges.[3] The renewable energy transition will include considerations for peak demand.[4]

Economic growth of the state is inversely associated with peak load.[5]

  1. ^ Torriti, Jacopo. "Peak energy demand and Demand Side Response".
  2. ^ Landsberg, Dennis R.; Ronald Stewart (1980). Improving Energy Efficiency in Buildings: A Management Guide. SUNY Press. p. 456. ISBN 1438409990. Retrieved 25 June 2013.
  3. ^ Wang, Lijun (2008). Energy Efficiency and Management in Food Processing Facilities. CRC Press. p. 122. ISBN 978-1420063394. Retrieved 25 June 2013.
  4. ^ Drude, Lukas; Pereira Junior, Luiz Carlos; Rüther, Ricardo (August 2014). "Photovoltaics (PV) and electric vehicle-to-grid (V2G) strategies for peak demand reduction in urban regions in Brazil in a smart grid environment". Renewable Energy. 68: 443–451. doi:10.1016/j.renene.2014.01.049. ISSN 0960-1481.
  5. ^ Alipour, Sayanti; Mukherjee, Panteha; Nateghi, Roshanak (2019). "Assessing climate sensitivity of peak electricity load for resilient power systems planning and operation: A study applied to the Texas region". Energy. 185: 1143–1153. Bibcode:2019Ene...185.1143A. doi:10.1016/j.energy.2019.07.074.