R.F. Cruickshank III (USA)
Networks, Electric, Utility, Supply and Demand Side Management
Now more than ever there is a need for orchestrating the supply and demand-side of Utility-provided services such as Electricity, Gas and Water. In real-time supply & demand side management, a variable price for service is sent from Utilities’ SUPPLY-SIDE via the Internet to the DEMAND-SIDE, such as to appliances in homes, to search for and encourage or discourage use and thus manage demand for Utility services. Demand is managed in aggregate across all users, not just at peak times, but rather throughout the day as capacity is needed or otherwise becomes available. There are three benefits: 1) traditional fossil-fuelled electrical capacity can operate less of the time and more efficiently, 2) renewable electrical capacity such as wind and solar power can be more efficiently put to immediate use right when it becomes available, and 3) additional means are available to protect Utilities’ transmission and distribution infrastructure. A critical requirement is that pricing changes often enough throughout the day so that budget conscious and less fortunate consumers do not have to wait long for favourable pricing in order to cook a meal or otherwise get things done.
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