TARGETING ELECTRIC RELIABILITY: ENERGY EFFICIENCY AS A PEAK DEMAND RESOURCE
Energy efficiency programs can be effective resources for reducing peak demand as well as overall load, according to a new report from ACEEE, Examining the Peak Demand Impacts of Energy Efficiency: A Review of Program Experience and Industry Practices. The report documents how energy efficiency programs can deliver savings during peak demand periods when the power grid is most stressed.
“Energy efficiency programs typically are valued mostly for the long-term electricity savings they achieve—savings that occur throughout the year or over the heating or cooling seasons,” noted lead author Dan York, Ph.D., Senior Research Associate for ACEEE’s Utilities Program. “However, our analysis of these programs shows that they also deliver critical savings during peak periods when power costs are high and supplies are constrained.”
The researchers observed that with an increasing emphasis on peak demand savings, the need for greater understanding and accurate quantification of the peak demand impacts of energy efficiency will increase. The report concludes that there could be an advantageous convergence of need, capabilities, and costs emerging for estimating peak demand impacts.
“Using energy efficiency to reduce peak demands is especially attractive because such savings get built into our energy systems; the savings occur every time an energy-efficient device is used,” concludes Martin Kushler, Ph.D., Utilities Program Director and co-author of the report.
ACEEE’s analysis includes a comparison of data used by five leading states and regions for estimating energy and peak demand savings of selected measures. This “comparative” database is included as a technical appendix to the report.
Read the press release and download the full report and appendices for free.
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