Get a Load of This! Monthly Digest of Insights Shared by Your Peers in the Energy Central Load Management Group – March 11, 2021

Load management encompasses the critical strategies of ensuring that power supply and demand meet cleanly at a point that doesn’t stress the grid or cause financial stress on utilities or customers, an area that will be of increasing importance with each passing year. In this monthly digest, we cover the most talked about and newsworthy articles in this space that were published on Energy Central over the past four weeks. We invite you to ‘get a load of this!’ every month and track the load management sector.

Revisiting Long Duration Winter Peak Events in the Southeast

John Wilson

Link to original article: https://energycentral.com/c/em/revisiting-long-duration-winter-peak-events

Since the last issue of this digest, the main story in the utility industry has no doubt been the extended freeze and winter storms in the Southeast, particularly those that knocked out the grid in Texas and has sparked countless debates, investigations, and more on ERCOT. In this article by John Wilson, those blackout events are looked at through the lens of how perhaps load management strategies maybe could play a role in the grand scheme of preventing such events again, particularly as these events may become more common.

Emerging Need for Demand Side Flexibility In Our Gas Networks

Donald Mcphail

Link to original article: https://energycentral.com/c/em/emerging-need-demand-side-flexibility-our-gas-networks

The topic of demand-side load management is typically restricted to electric power utilities, but in this article by Uplight’s Donald Mcphail we get to explore how, why, and where similar strategies should be considered for the gas utilities as well. Demand side flexibility has been successful in numerous goals where it’s been implemented for electricity, so using those lessons learned in the gas industry seems like a natural step. Read Donald’s take and see if you agree.

Load Shedding is the Power System’s Safe Guard

Dr. Amal Khashab

Link to original article:  https://energycentral.com/c/gr/load-shedding-power-system%E2%80%99s-safe-guard

Another technical topic that appears to be back in the discussion because of the blackouts in Texas is the idea of load shedding, which Dr. Amal Khashab pegs as the power system’s safe guard. This article does a good job of breaking down the technical concept to demonstrate the usefulness load shedding presents a utility and why, perhaps, more time and resources should be put into it.

Smart Water Heater Control – Low Hot Water Reserve Detection

G. Heber Weller

Link to original article:  https://energycentral.com/c/em/smart-water-heater-control-low-hot-water-reserve-detection

Ending on another technological solution, the world of demand side management often taps into larger appliances like water heaters, so the development of smart water heater controls like in this article presents potential new opportunities to utilities. Energy Central strives to bring together not just market and policy solutions, but also present the innovators creating new tools and this might just be one in the work of peak load shedding, meaning it’s worth a look.

Thanks for reading this issue of ‘Get a Load of This!’ See you in this spot in four weeks to go over the great content that will be coming between now and then! This spot can feature the insights from you or the major stories at your organization—so don’t be shy about sharing your content on the Load Management Group today! 

Make sure you don't miss out on these shared insights in the future. If you're not yet a member of the EC Load Management community, follow the link to 'JOIN NOW!' Then select the "join option" in the top right of the group page.  If you are not yet registered, you will be prompted to create a profile first.

As a member, you'll not only be able to read what your fellow peers are saying but also be able to join in on the conversations by sharing your insights (which might get featured in a future monthly digest!). Plus, you can start a conversation by discussing articles with peers in the comments section, and you will automatically be signed up to receive the Network's weekly newsletter.

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