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The Secret of Electricity Demand Management: How to Make Our Electricity Bills Cheaper?
In an era of increasingly tense energy, demand side management (DSM) has gradually become an important means to reduce electricity bills. This management strategy aims to adjust the demand for electricity through various methods, such as financial incentives, education and behavioral changes, thereby effectively encouraging consumers to reduce electricity consumption during peak periods or adjust electricity usage to off-peak hours. Time periods, such as nights and weekends.
Demand side management does not necessarily mean a reduction in overall energy consumption, but is expected to reduce the need for investment in networks and power plants during peak times.
For example, using energy storage units to store energy during off-peak hours and then release it during peak hours is a successful practice. As renewable energy sources such as wind and solar become more widespread, this management strategy becomes increasingly important, especially when the timing and magnitude of energy demand does not synchronize with the timing of renewable energy generation.
After the energy crises of 1973 and 1979, governments around the world formulated many policies to promote demand management. For example, the National Energy Conservation Policy Act passed in the United States in 1978 laid the foundation for many energy-related management measures. These measures not only affect the business strategies of electricity suppliers, but also prompt consumers to rethink their electricity consumption habits.
Governments and other public institutions are gradually adopting energy efficiency improvement measures, hoping to improve the efficiency of energy consumption through these methods.
Operating mode
The U.S. power industry has historically relied heavily on foreign energy imports, whether directly imported electricity or fossil fuels subsequently used to generate electricity. In an effort to reduce dependence on foreign oil and promote energy efficiency, the federal government in the 1970s passed the Public Utility Regulatory Policy Act (PURPA), which required power companies to seek the cheapest electricity from independent power producers, which to a certain extent promoted renewable energy. utilization of renewable energy, and promoted the implementation of energy efficiency and demand management.
As demand changes, wholesale power systems typically respond by dispatching additional generation. However, during peak periods, this additional generation often comes from less efficient "peaking" power sources. Sadly, the immediate financial and environmental costs of using these peak supplies are not reflected in the retail pricing system.
The purpose of demand-side management is to reduce the gap between electricity demand and supply and provide users with the benefit of reduced demand.
Types of demand side management
Demand-side management can be divided into many types, including: energy efficiency improvement, demand response, dynamic demand and distributed energy resources. Further categories include: national, utility, community and household level management.
At the national level, legislation and standards can promote energy efficiency improvements in housing, buildings, appliances and other fields; and at the public utility level, many suppliers will use technology to remotely control air conditioners and water heaters for large users to reduce peak demand. . Community-level management emphasizes the power of collective purchasing to achieve better resource utilization and cost savings.
For example, in Australia, many homes have installed photovoltaic power generation systems, which not only help save electricity bills, but also achieve self-sufficiency through intelligent management and reduce dependence on the power grid.
Challenges faced
Despite the many benefits of demand-side management, some still question its effectiveness. They argue that this strategy sometimes results in higher utility costs for consumers. Additionally, in many markets, consumers do not face real-time pricing but pay their electricity bills based on annual average costs or other pre-constructed prices, which affects their willingness to change their electricity usage behavior.
How can consumers be given reasonable price incentives to reduce demand during peak periods?
In practice, demand side management hopes that consumers can use less electricity during peak periods and increase their consumption during off-peak periods, ultimately achieving an optimal balance between electricity demand and supply. With the advancement of technology, especially the popularization of smart grids, the prospects of this management method will become increasingly clear. In the future, whether we can comprehensively integrate various measures to minimize electricity bills will become an urgent issue for us to think about.
