Why Worry about Decreasing Peak Demand?
As members of your local Electric Cooperative, we all have a stake in reducing peak
demand
and lowering costs associated with generating and transmitting electric energy.
What is Demand?
Demand is a measurement of the highest en¬ergy consumption at a given time during
the month.
What is Peak?
Peak is the point in time when the usage by all consumers is the highest.
Why control demand?
To keep your rates low. For example, if you operate one 100-watt light bulb for
ten hours, you will use
one kilowatt-hour of en¬ergy. That energy will cost the
cooperative about two cents. If the monthly peak
occurs during the usage period,
the demand will be one tenth of a kilowatt, because that is the maximum
usage at
any one time. The cost to your cooperative for your demand for the month would be
about $1.20.
If on the other hand, you had ten 100-watt light bulbs on for only
one hour, you would still use the same
amount of energy (1 kilowatt-hour), but the
Demand would be ten times as much (1 kilowatt). If the demand
occurred during the
peak it would cost the cooperative about $12.00. So depend¬ing on when you used
the electricity, the same kilowatt-hour of electricity would cost your cooperative
$.02, $1.22, or $12.02.
What is the coop's demand response program?
Simply put, the co-op wants to reduce the electrical load peaks and keep de¬mand
low. We will do this
by control¬ling water heaters during the times of day when
electricity is used the most.
How long will my load be controlled?
Your cooperative's peak times are somewhat predictable. They almost always occur
in the morning
between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m., or in the evening between 5:00 p.m.
and 8:00 p.m. in the winter. In the
summer the peak demand is from 5:00 p.m. to
8:00 p.m. The water heater will only be controlled 5-10 days
per month Monday through
Friday and no weekends or holidays.
Can I bypass or change my control de¬vice?
No. The device is controlled from our office during times when electricity usages
are high and the need
to control the rate is greatest.
How do you control demand?
Butte Electric employees will schedule a time to meet you at your home to install
a device near your breaker
panel or water heater. There is no cost to you for the
equipment or installation. The device will communicate
with a computer at our office
via the power lines. When load needs to be controlled, a signal will be sent
from
the office to your water heater system to turn off the load.
How will load control affect my hot water needs?
Stored hot wa¬ter in your wa¬ter heater would provide your hot water needs through¬out
the control period.
If you are not currently running out of hot water, you will
not notice the difference.
What incentive is there for me to sign up?
In addition to helping keep your rates low, BEC will sell you a Marathon water heater
with a life-time warranty
on the tank at a discounted cost depending on whether
it is a new home or replacing an existing water
heater. If we install demand response
equipment on your existing water heater, we will give you $50.00.
Can I leave the Program?
We hope that you will remain in the program for as long as you are a member. However,
if the load control
interferes with your lifestyle, you may return the incentive
and be removed from the program. If you
purchased a Mara¬thon water heater from
the cooperative, you would need to return the rebate. However, you
may not return
the Marathon water heater.
What if I sell my home?
Please let the new owners know about the load control device and have them contact
the coop¬erative
if they have questions concerning the demand response program.
For more information and other energy-savings tips, go to www.TogetherWeSave.com.