Ever heard the saying “beating the banks at their own game”? Well understanding peak demand, especially in a seasonal business, and combating it, is like beating your energy retailer at their own game. This will save you thousands, so pay attention!
To understand how to combat it, you must understand; what is peak demand? Demand charges on your electricity bill are determined by the highest peak demand (measured in kVA) (network supply). This demand charge appears on your electricity bill every month, charging at the highest peak in the last charging period.
This can be up to 12 months ago – meaning even if your recent demand is low, you are being billed at the highest peak demand across the last 12 months. You read that right, you are being billed at the highest peak, even though your current demand is low.
So now that you know this, how can you combat it? The technical term is called peak shaving. Acacia Energy’s proprietary, cloud-based Optimisation and Bid Engine (OBE) platform autonomously monitors your electricity usage and controls your renewable assets to effectively cap your peak demand. When the OBE senses high demand (kVA), it switches on the renewable generator to supply kVA above the capped amount, which reduces the on-grid demand. This automated reduction means that you will never have to pay that high demand charge again.
