Using Load Research Data to Assess Demand Side Management Interventions

The electrification of so many new customers under the NEP has had a major impact on the national system load, such that electricity demand will outstrip peak generation capacity by 2007. To relieve the situation many demand side management (DSM) initiatives are being implemented to try to modify the system load profile. It is difficult to select the optimum DSM method for a distribution area without first knowing more about appliance ownership and usage of each customer type and the associated load profile. The data available in the NRS LR database has been analysed to determine the characteristics of each customer type and uses this information to assess the impact of various DSM interventions.