Energy Demand II
Last month, we discussed the difference between energy demand and energy consumption. This month, we want to provide a bit more information on energy demand.
The DSO board of directors is planning to make a few changes to the electric rates. There is more information regarding the rate changes on DSO’s website, but we wanted to focus on the addition of a demand charge to the residential and general service rates.
Over the past few years, DSO has included a demand line item on its residential bills, showing the highest demand (kW) for the month. Now, there will be a charge attached to that demand number, which will generate a demand cost. As of this writing, the demand charge will be $1.00/kW for Residential accounts and $1.25/kW for General Service accounts.
To keep your demand costs as low as possible, the trick is to avoid using a lot of appliances or electric items at any one time. For example, try not to run your electric dryer, dishwasher, and air conditioner at the same time. These three items could add 7-10 kW to your demand, which would add $7-$10 to your monthly electric bill. Of course, you can’t avoid using appliances and electric items; you will always have some sort of demand. Just be aware that the more items you use at any time will lead to higher demand costs on your bill.
While these demand costs will represent less than 10% of your average electric bill, they do make up about 50% of what DSO pays its power supplier. So, you can see why DSO asks its members to reduce power usage during specific times (Red Zone).