Adopting an effective supply capacity management approach

Transcription

1 Adopting an effective supply capacity management approach

2 Understanding your data and planning ahead Measure your Maximum Demand and avoid being penalised for using more electricity than allowed in your supply contract. All electricity supply contracts for half-hourly meters have an Available/Agreed Supply Capacity (ASC) (also called Maximum Import Capacity (MIC) within their terms and conditions. This is essentially the maximum amount of electricity that the Distribution Network Operator (DNO) allows your organisation to import from the network to your meter(s). Your Maximum Demand (MD) for electricity from the Grid should not exceed the ASC (when converted to kva). It is important to ensure that your ASC is sufficient for your needs. If you exceed your ASC, you will ratchet-up charges for future months, and may incur penalties. Equally, if it is set excessively high, you will be paying for capacity you don t need. Having effective procedures to monitor your maximum electricity demand from the Grid is therefore good practice for any organisation. Intelligently Procuring Value 2

3 Why does your business need to manage this effectively? If your demand (in kva) exceeds your ASC, you are using more power than you have contracted for under your Connection Agreement, and are liable to penalties or increased charges accordingly. In extreme cases this could cause damage to the network and/or power disturbances in your local area which can result in substantial penalty fees levied by the DNO. These serve to incentivise you to manage your supply capacity effectively. Measuring your maximum demand Unfortunately, the process is not simply comparing your maximum active power consumption in kw with your ASC. As the ASC incorporates active power in kw and reactive power in KVArh, you will need an understanding of your use of both active and reactive power. At this stage, unless you have an appetite for a detailed study of electrical systems, it is time to get specialist help! A reputable energy advisor with consumption data management services will be able to assist with your requirements. A software solution can automate the collection and analysis of reactive power data, and combine active power and reactive power into apparent power in Kilo Volt Amperes (kva), which you will need to compare with your ASC. Intelligently Procuring Value 3

4 It is important to ensure that your ASC is sufficient for your needs. If you exceed your ASC, you will ratchet-up charges for future months, and may incur penalties.

5 Five ways energy advisors could help your business... As the measurement and recording of ASC and your MD is quite complex, this can lead to billing issues. These include: Incorrect ASC data The DNO should send correct ASC information to a customer s supplier upon the start of a new contract. However, often suppliers estimate and share this information as it is easier and quicker than waiting for the data flows, which may mean that the ASC is inaccurate. To overcome this issue, ensure you contact your DNO yourself and confirm the ASC and pass this to your supplier. Inaccurate MD data Sometimes suppliers do not use a meter s lead and lag data to work out the actual ASC maximum demand. When this happens, the client is more than likely being mis-charged and suppliers can back-bill the correct amount up to six years later. To prevent this happening, an independent third party, in the form of an energy advisor, can work with you to confirm all your data and ensure that you are only being charged for what you use. Intelligently Procuring Value 5

6 What should you do next? Short term Have a look at your electricity contract and bills, in particular the Distribution Use of System (DUoS) charging methodology. Identify the level of your ASC and the penalties specified should you exceed it. Engage expert help from an energy consultancy to allow you to measure and monitor your use of kvas in a timely way and adapt your procedures to allow you to react if your demand gets close to exceeding your ASC. Medium term At contract renewal time you will want to revisit the level of ASC to ensure that it is sufficiently high to cover your likely (optimistic) requirements over the life of the contract, without being so high that you are paying for unused capacity. Intelligently Procuring Value 6 6

7 Need help with your energy strategy? Get in touch. V2. Mar 2018