Electric power load management: Some technical, economic, regulatory and social issues

This paper provides a review of the subject of electric power load management. In Section I, we briefly introduce the topic and then provide a summary of the current operating characteristics of electric energy production and delivery (EEPD) systems. Section II places load management in the context of the broader set of energy management strategies available to EEPD systems. The organization and rationale of the paper is then explained. In Section III, we review the set of communication/control technologies available or under development for use in the implementation of load management in EEPD systems. We provide an assessment of the relative attractiveness of alternative technologies, a brief summary description of a major field demonstration being jointly funded by EPRI and DOE, and two examples which illustrate the state of the art in modern two-way systems. In Section IV, we review the conventional approach to U.S. electric rate design, describe the current national Electric Utility Rate Design Study, review some important basic ideas of microeconomics, explore the subject of price elasticity of demand, examine the basic ideas underlying marginal cost pricing, discuss some of the practical difficulties of implementing time dependent rates, briefly examine some foreign rate design experience, and conclude by summarizing a number of U.S. rate design experiments sponsored by NSF and by FEA (now DOE). Section V is devoted to an examination of the problems of finding manageable loads in the residential, commercial, industrial, and transportation sectors. Particular attention is given to the development of thermal storage systems for water heating, space heating, and space cooling. Section VI is devoted to summarizing a number of studies which have attempted to assess the short- and long-term economic impacts of load management. The state of the field is such that few definitive cost/benefit statements can be made at this time. A number of potential social impacts are discussed and some broad regulatory policy guidelines are suggested. Finally, in Section VII, we highlight conclusions reached in the five preceeding sections, and identify a number of research and policy needs.