DON’T GIVE UP ON DSM
Load management systems are evolving into total automation packages
By: John Lowrey

April, 1998....Will load-management/demand-side management programs survive deregulation? The answer seems to depend on who you ask. One investor-owned utility representative from a state that just passed deregulation legislation said, "Load management isn’t even on our radar screen right now."

Some G&T cooperatives have scaled back or eliminated DSM programs. However, in many cases, it is still economically prudent for distribution co-ops to focus on DSM. Even if competition drives down wholesale power rates, it makes sense to efficiently control peak demand.

Generating capacity is often misunderstood or misrepresented. In many areas, there is what some call excess generating capacity, which may refer to base-load capacity. Deregulation or not, electricity is still a commodity that cannot be stored. Stashing away a few megawatts in the spring to take care of the summer just can’t be done.

Some industry analysts are concerned about the capacity to supply peak demand. Researchers at Cambridge Energy Research Associates, for example, say we are on the verge of a crisis. And it’s not just peak generating capacity that’s the problem. Lack of transmission capacity between generators is at the root of some regional peak capacity problems. Capacity margins to meet peak demand have fallen to less than 10 percent in some North American Electric Reliability Council regions. New generating construction has slowed, while summer peak demand continues to grow.

As a result, the price of peaking power is still 10-times the off-peak price in some areas. If supplies tighten because of generation or transmission constraints, the price for peak capacity could go even higher. Utilities and customers that can’t control demand during peak periods may pay an even higher price.

David Swank, member services manager for Grundy Electric Co-op in Trenton, Mo., says, "Load management is going to have a place in the future just as it has in the past. It has always been one of those issues we’ve debated. Should we do it or should we not?"

Grundy Electric has about 1,800 water heaters under the control of Cannon Technologies Distribution System Manager (DSM/2). "With our demand cost as it is, we are saving around $175,000," says Swank.

Cannon’s DSM/2 is a software/hardware system used by more than 200 electric utilities. Its primary function is direct load control for peak shaving and valley filling. But it can also perform data acquisition and integrate with most major SCADA systems as a load-control subsystem. One of its primary features is its ability to run multiple "virtual" control zones. Several different points can be monitored, and different customized control strategies can be set for each zone.

The DSM/2 system also supports remote metering when using ABB EMETCON hardware. The original mission of Cannon Technologies was to "port" the EMETCON Master Station software to the IBM PC. This allowed many small utilities to use EMETCON on a more affordable platform. EMETCON is the only distribution line carrier technology to use packet-based digital architecture. This ensures that a two-way signal can be propagated to every mile of a system. Cannon recently acquired a perpetual license to develop EMETCON from ABB. Load management has traditionally paid for other distribution automation options. Although the financial savings it provides may change with deregulation, it can still be a part of the justification for adding high-tech utility infrastructure—computers, remote monitors, meters, control devices and communications technology.

"The nice thing about our load-control system is you automatically have the infrastructure for AMR [automated meter reading] and voltage control," says Ed Cannon, president of Cannon Technologies. "It is a total system solution." Grundy Electric is now able to do more than just load management. "We are actually doing SCADA now, and outage detection, metering, voltage monitoring and load surveying," says Swank. "We need to become more long-term visionaries rather than short term. It is going to be part of our infrastructure in the future."

Swank is even using the system to create a database marketing system. Grundy Electric recently was recognized with an award for "Best Marketing of Automation" by Pennwell’s Utility Automation Magazine, sponsor of the annual DA/DSM DistribuTECH Conference and Exhibition. Grundy worked closely with Cannon Technologies to adapt Cannon’s STARS 3 database program for target marketing.

Cannon Technologies developed its database program 10 years ago to track load-management installations. "It tells you where it is in the house, the serial number, who installed it, etc.," says Cannon. "Now it can be used as a front-end marketing tool."

STARS 3 author David Sutton added features to the software so it could be used to track marketing survey information. Information on the home’s heating system, air conditioning, insulation levels and demographic information is collected when the load-management control receiver is installed. Says Swank, "If I want to know everyone with a gas furnace that is more than 15 years old, I can extract that from the database and begin to market to those individuals."

Load-management systems are evolving into total automation infrastructure packages. Even if deregulation lowers the cost of power, system automation, including load management, will help co-ops survive and prosper in a competitive market. "Deregulation is scaring the daylights out of everybody," says Cannon. "Some are saying we better not do anything. I think the smart guys are saying ‘Let’s build the infrastructure today, so we will be ready when it happens.’ "

This article is reprinted from the April issue of Rural Electrification magazine, and appears here with permission from NRECA.