Demand

Demand (kW) is the highest amount, or peak, of electricity used during a period of time.  For BFEC that period of time is 15 consecutive minutes.  Members will have a daily peak, generally in the morning or evening, and will be billed on their highest daily peak of the month.  When the majority of members peak during the same time period, it creates a peak on BFEC’s electric distribution system.  Because electricity must be generated the moment it is needed, serving peaks can require resources that are more expensive since they are harder to plan for and require larger infrastructure to accommodate them.   A goal of BFEC’s is to continue to educate our members on ways to lower your peak load, which in turn will lead to lower demand charges for you and your cooperative. 

When you think about ways to reduce demand, remember that some electricity usage is impossible to avoid.  For instance, appliances like refrigerators and freezers typically run, regardless of the time of day.  Other loads, especially those that use a large amount of power, may be able to run at other times.  We encourage our members to “level your load” and spread out the use of major appliances rather than running them at the same time.  For example, you could do laundry and other chores that require significant amounts of electricity when other appliances aren’t running such as mid-day, later in the evening or on weekends.   Another suggestion is to purchase a programmable thermostat to reduce heating and air conditioning use during your peak hours.