3.10 Tariff and Market Issues

3.10.2 Load Control (LC)

Load control and interruptible loads schemes have been used for decades to minimized demand charges and manage peak load conditions. The most common controlled loads include the cycling of water heaters, air conditioners, and pool pumps. The interruptible loads have primarily belonged to industrial customers who agree to decrease load if requested.

Direct load control is handled by the utility issuing broadcast commands to the selected appliances to start their cycling, while indirect load control involves phone calls to selected customers to ask them to reduce load. A typical load control tariff includes a reduced rate while permitting the utility xx number of hours per year of reducing customer loads.

Load control is mostly used to shift peak loads, with the understanding that there will be a “recovery” later that often uses more net energy but has shifted to off-peak.

Load control is considered to be a part of the broader concept of demand side management. Although still used, direct load control has become less favored, with the idea that it can be replaced by demand response.