Utility Overview Study Report, FY 1985: Regional Indicators of Potential for Electric Utility Demand-Side Management Programs.

摘要

The advent of increasing marginal costs and slower growth in the 1970's, along with a proactive regulatory environment, have spurred utilities to explore alternatives to traditional planning methods. Key factors that affected the industry were the failure of expected high demand growth to materialize, rapid increase in construction costs, the emergence of environmental concerns relative to generation and transmission facilities, increases in worldwide price of fossil-fuels, conservation legislation, and problems in the nuclear power industry. Both 'Least-Cost Planning' and 'Demand-Side Management' represent utility efforts to improve system efficiency through closer matching of electricity supply and demand. Among utilities, Least-Cost Planning is a strategic resource planning concept which compares the cost/benefit of 'demand-reducing' and 'capacity enhancing' options to that of constructing new power plants. Demand-side management involves development of end-use programs to influence the expected load shape. A central concern for analysts engaged in these activities is how to integrate the consumer's energy service needs with the utilities' system requirements so as to optimize 'quality, reliability, and stable electricity prices'. In this context, the primary objectives of the Utility Overview Study are to: Provide an estimate of where and when utilities are likely to be interested in promoting energy conservation as an alternative to energy exchange arrangements or construction of new plants to meet future energy demand; provide a framework for relating the conclusions of LBL utility case studies on financial impacts of energy conservation to the national context. 30 refs., 6 figs., 5 tabs. (ERA citation 14:022321)