GA - Peak Shaving

Peak Shaving is the voluntary reduction of load whenever a peak occurs on the grid. In most jurisdictions this occurs whenever a peak is “predicted”. A service provider typically provides these ALERTs (predictions) well ahead of the event and may also manage the client’s machinery to shave the peak and restore it to full load after the peak has passed. The following other phenomena are related to Peak Shaving:

1. Demand Response is the voluntary reduction of load when called upon to do so by the Utility instead of in response to the “prediction” of a peak. A service provider typically provides these ALERTs (predictions) when called upon by the Utility well ahead of the event and may also manage the client’s machinery to reduce the load and restore it to full load after the event has passed.
2. Price Arbitrage occurs whenever electricity is supplied from an auxiliary device (e.g. ESS or CHP) because the price on the grid is higher than the electricity that could be supplied from the auxiliary device. A service provider typically provides these ALERTs (predictions) and may also manage the client’s machinery to reduce the load on the grid and restore it to full load after the event has passed.

The following techniques are used to achieve Peak Shaving, Demand Response or Price Arbitrage

LC – Load Curtailment
Also known as Load Shedding, this technique is used to shut down non-critical loads in response to the “prediction” of a peak or a situation when the price on the grid is uneconomical. It can also be used Demand Response and Price Arbitrage.

ESS – Energy Storage Systems
Energy Storage Systems (ESS) typically consist of Batteries. Besides protecting a vital asset against an outage, Energy Storage Systems are used to supply the load in response to the “prediction” of a peak. They can also be used to charge during off-peak hours and discharge during on-peak hours on a daily basis, thus offering “price arbitrage” to lower the overall cost of electricity. The transfer of load to and from the grid is totally transparent. The largest application of these systems has been for the purpose of peak shaving in applications where the load cannot be reduced (e.g. Class A Global Adjustment, in Ontario) and in Demand Response

CHP – Combined Heat & Power
CHP typically consists of a Gas Fried Power Plant (GFPP). These devices are used to supply the load in response to the “prediction” of a peak. They can be used to supply the load whenever the price of the grid exceeds the price of electricity from the CHP, effectively offering “price arbitrage” to lower the overall cost of electricity. Besides supplying electricity, useful byproducts are a substantial amount of heat and carbon-dioxide. The transfer of load to and from the grid is totally transparent. The largest application of these systems has been for the purpose of peak shaving in applications where the load cannot be reduced (e.g. Class A Global Adjustment, in Ontario) and in Demand Response