Peak Shaving Methods

Hi, Sinak.

That's a pretty big subject. It can cover anything from contracts that allow a utility to cut some or all power to a consumer (say, an office or a manufacturing plant) with warning before it happens, to having prices change during a day so that consumers 'adjust themselves' (like people at home not running appliances when electricity is expensive), and many others.

As concerns power-factor correction, there are several ways that that can be done: by capacitor banks, by industrial electronics (varistors), and by synchronous condensers (reactive-power generators).

This is a big subject. I can help you with it informally here, and if you need professional help, I can help you with that, too. If you're interested, just let me know where you are, where the distribution company is (just the country or country and province will suffice), and how I can get in touch with me.

Either way, good luck!

Dread Zontar

Montreal, Canada (GMT - 5 hours, same as New York City)

Dear Dread I want to be a member of this project for distribution company in Qazvin,Iran. I need your professional help in this way and I really thank you for this. At first I should ask them for their grid parameters. I want to know, what information is needed for calculating the usage of different methods of peak shaving, specially using capacitor. And please me tell me some references and standards in these objects. I want to investigate on these methods in this grid: 1. Using mini-turbines 2. Using capacitors 3. Pricing 4. Urban consumes 5. Online dispatching and intelligent power grid 6. Different methods of dispatching Best Regards Sina J.Kasmaei

Hi sinak

We have ripple switch system whereby the grid can turn off geysers and none essential uses remotely by superimposing a signal on the power line. for a compensation the users are placed on a lower charge.

It seems to be abandoned because users found a workaround.

It can be done but you may need government to prescribe the rules.

I want to know how someone, who apparently has no idea what to do, gets a job doing it when there are literally thousands of very qualified people out there looking for this kind of work. My suspicion s that whomever has hired him is unwilling to pay the appropriate rate for a qualified Electrical Engineer with experience in this application, so they have hired a novice to do the same job who will work for less.

One who must rely upon soliciting free advice from (probably) many of the same qualified EEs who were not given the opportunity for the project.

At first I should say you that it is not a job it is a big research plan in sharif university of technology, electrical engineering school. And 2 professors who leads our groups, contact to that company. They are profession in this topic. But they want us (students) to search in this topic and give a proposal for possible method. Did you got it?

Hi, Sinak.

Thanks, knowing that this is for a research project is good to know.

As I've said, this is a big subject, so I'll get back to you in a day or two with some ideas.

In the meantime, a question: are you, as a student, looking for one way (among many) to shave peaks for your own work (not for the entire research project)? Or are you looking for a list of ways to achieve it?

As concerns standards: in many cases, there aren't any. Peak-shaving can be done in many ways, and many transmission systems are using different methods to achieve it. Methods include load shedding (cutting off power) to certain consumers, charging higher prices for electricity during peak periods, partial load-shedding by customers at industrial sites, switching to other sources of energy (from electricity to oil or natural gas, for example), etc. Which methods are best for a particular distribution system will depend on what kind of customers the system is providing power to. Residential customers (people's homes) will need different methods than commercial (stores, shopping centres), institutions (banks, schools, universities, hospitals), and industrial ones.

Also, the methods depend on what other sources of energy are available and how power is used. For example, if an industrial customer is connected to a source of natural gas, he can generate power where he is by turning on a gas turbine that he owns for that purpose. In this manner, if there's not enough power available from the distribution system, or that the power starts costing too much during the day, he can generate some of his own power instead of drawing it all from the distribution system. From the distributor's point of view, the industrial customer will seem to use less power once the customer's turbines is turned on.

One more question, then: are the methods that you're looking for to be ones for a particular distribution system? If so, do you have any information concerning what kinds of customers are served by the grid (residential, commercial, etc.) and other information concerning how power is used? For example, is power used to heat homes (like it is very much where I live), or is heating done by burning oil or gas?

One last thing: I operate a consulting company that's interested in participating in these kinds of projects. I'm an electrical / process-control engineer who has an MBA (Masters of Business Administration) degree, with an Energy Sector specialization. One of my colleagues is an Iranian electrical / process-control Ph.D. who could help, too (he speaks Farsi and Azeri, so language will be no problem). Also, the Energy Sector professors at the university where I got my MBA here in Montreal, Canada may be interested in participating. If you'd like to discuss about us to your professors, do feel free to do so.

Either way, I'll propose some ideas to you; and those ideas will be better if I get answers to my questions.

Cheers, Sinak! And good luck on this big initiative.

Dread Zontar

Montreal, Canada

Dear Dread; Thanks for your admiration. In this project I want to investigate on any possible ways in this region. Qazvin, has a big industrial town and farms which use big pumps. And about 2 million people live in this region. So we can use various ways for peak shaving and we can authorize an instruction for this industrial town. Unfortunately they just use manual load-shedding now. But now they decided to optimize their costs. Yes, I want methods which are proper for this distribution system. And because of this, I asked you, what information I should collect at first. I really thank you for your help. I'm surprised and so pleased in your mind of manner. Best Regards Sina J.Kasmaei Tehran (Please tell me how can I enter in my comments!)

Hi, SInak.

Thanks for the compliemnt, and it's all always my pleasure to help fellow engineers make our world a better place.

Sorry that I haven't gotten back to you ... I've been busy. :-S

I haven't forgotten you, though. I'll answer your questions later this week or during the weekend.

Cheers!
MZ

Hi, Sinak.

Sorry, I've been busy but haven't forgotten you.

Here's a model used by FERC in the US to model peak-shaving methods, etc., in the US. I hope this helps!

http://www.ferc.gov/industries/electric/indus-act/demand-response/dr-potential.asp

Cheers! And goo dluck ...

DZ