Ontario’s class A customers know that pain well – global adjustment charges that can amount to half of their monthly electricity bill. Large commercial energy users looking to reduce their grid load during those critical peak demand hours by peak shaving (also known as GA busting), have several options under the ICI program. Two of the most common are prime power generators and batteries.
Industrial generators are a great option because it’s well-known and trusted technology. They’re reliable, scalable, and can run continuously, unlike batteries which will likely need to replenish after several hours. As more players muddy the waters, peak forecasting has become more difficult – Class A customers are having to deploy their curtailment resources more frequently and for longer periods of time in order to avoid the top 5 demand peaks. Prime power generators provide the flexibility needed to cover these increasingly longer timespans.
They also offer the added benefit of reliable emergency backup power and can be paired with a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) system for further cost savings.