Large electricity user? Take control of your global adjustment!

For Ontario electric utility customers, global adjustment (GA) has so expanded that it currently surpasses the cost of energy alone. The global adjustment is a line item monthly charge on the electric bill which purposes to cover differences between market price and regulated, contracted generators besides paying for demand management and conservation programs.

Regulatory changes have enabled consumers with an average monthly peak exceeding 5 KW  to benefit from the global adjustment 5CP program.  Our Global Adjustment (GA) Predictive Tool along with a corporate energy management plan is an effective way to reduce electrical expenses by avoiding the top five electrical demand peaks.

Eligible Class A consumers incur charges based on their consumption compared to the total Ontario consumption during the highest 5 hours of a given 12-month base period, the 5CP program.  This development has renewed interest in demand response strategies with companies considering three opportunities.

• Curtailing production to lessen demand during peak hours is a worthwhile approach, especially for companies with slack in their production cycle or the ability to build up inventory before shutting down.
• Manage demand by having appropriate controls in place to provide flexibility. After thoroughly assessing production energy needs, businesses can employ new conservation and demand technology allowing them to lower electrical use without affecting production.
• On-site generation makes sense when the generator KW output during peak hours reduces GA costs to match load reduction without interrupting production.

Fortunately, companies such as Rodan Energy Solutions, provide opportunities for companies to execute a sophisticated electrical management strategy.  The potential savings of a GA 5CP program more than offset the costs of the services.

The Global Adjustment (GA) Predictive Tool is part of the peak avoidance service where market experts use in-depth knowledge to monitor demand and provide alerts that pinpoint hours most likely to become peaks.   Using the most relevant long-term forecasts and technology, the service providers establish an initial demand limit early in the season as the point where load restraint will presumably occur.  The aim is to avoid peak hours without over-curtailing and causing business disruption.

GA services should offer pre-peak season analysis together with regular updates during peak days as updated forecasts become available.  In addition, the service should monitor demand variation, large consumer activity and initiation of other DR programs continually through the day so it can send timely advisories to its customers.

Please contact us for assistance in managing your peak power.