Lower Your Demand, Lower Your Bill
If your electric bill is based on the General Services Demand (GSD) or Industrial (IND) rate, you have a unique opportunity to manage your electric expenses by limiting your demand for power consumption.
By controlling your demand for power at any given time and spreading your consumption over time, you can lower your peak usage and save money. Here’s how it works.
Your electric cost consists of two main elements:
- Consumption is the total number of kilowatt-hours, or kWh, used during your monthly billing cycle.
- Demand, measured in kilowatts (kW), is the highest amount of electricity you use at a given time during your monthly billing cycle. This is often referred to as your peak demand.
These are the primary elements to your bill, and we apply a charge for each. Here’s a bill segment sample that shows the individual charges.
- GSD Demand Charge $836.64 (99.6 KW)
- GSD Energy Charge $950.14 (28320 KWH)
How Can I Lower My Demand?
While your ability to reduce your demand will depend the type of business you operate and your operational needs, we encourage you to consider the following suggestions for when and how you use electricity:
- The energy required by major electrical appliances, motors and industrial machinery, heating and cooling systems, and electric vehicle chargers can drive up demand costs when they run at the same time. Consider opportunities to spread out your use of these equipment so they aren’t used simultaneously, preferably over separate 15-minute periods.
- Use a programmable or smart thermostat to reduce heating and cooling system usage during peak usage periods.
- Use a timer for water heaters, dishwashers, pool pumps or other appliances that may run at more flexible times for your primary operation.
- Install energy-efficient variable-speed motors and equipment to get the most output from the power you uses.
- Upgrade to LED lighting for parking lots, warehouses and outdoor security lights. Add motion sensorss.
- Upgrade gaskets, air curtains, auto-closers and ECM motors for refrigerations.
- Inspect and upgrade air compressors and repair leaks.