Industry report: Load management options abound for reducing peak demand and costs

Radical changes are under way in the electric utility industry. Utilities find load management options offer peak reduction and customer satisfaction. For several years now, electric utilities have attempted to {open_quotes}manage{close_quotes} the timing and magnitude of electricity use to reduce costs associated with the supply of electricity. A recent workshop sponsored by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) indicated that in some load managmeent (LM) programs, utilities attempt to shift cusotmer demand from on-peak to off-peak periods. In other programs, according to EPRI, utilities sacrifice some electricity sales for the sake of peak demand or to prevent the growth in peak demand.