Energy

Electrical Load Shedding in Industry

Published on: 17 November 2022

The energy crisis is here, and the industry is being hit hard. Prepare your load shedding contract to manage the energy shortage effectively. What is a load shedding contract, and why is it becoming increasingly important today?

Summary

> What is an energy consumption load shedding contract?

> Why is an electrical load shedding contract particularly important today?

> How Dametis helps you obtain a better load shedding contract

Anticipate and discuss your load shedding contract with Dametis!

What is an energy consumption load shedding contract?

Increasingly developed nationwide, industrial electrical load shedding aims to ensure the continuous supply of electricity for everyone. Industrial companies, which generally consume large amounts of electricity, sign contracts with a load shedding operator to provide their shedding capacity to the electrical grid and reduce their consumption when needed in exchange for income. In other words, it’s a contract between a company and a power transmission network (also known as RTE). The company commits, upon RTE’s request, to temporarily cut part of its energy consumption. In return, RTE will pay the contracting company. A load shedding contract with a company is different from diffused load shedding, which involves cutting electricity to many “small consumers” like households.

Why the load shedding contract for industry?

RTEs can supply energy according to their forecasts. Indeed, a portion of the energy produced and not consumed is lost because energy is difficult to store. However, energy consumption in France is not a constant that can be reliably predicted. There are consumption peaks depending on the time of day, especially at 7 p.m., when people return home and prepare meals. There is also higher demand in winter when heating is turned on. To supply energy continuously during these peaks, it is necessary to reduce consumption elsewhere. Industrial companies can subscribe to a load shedding contract with the electricity distribution network administrator. They receive a signal asking them to “shed load.” The network administrator subscribes to “insurance” with the industrial company, paying a certain amount so that if the industrial company needs to reduce its load, it can request the industrial company to shed part of its consumption. The main interest of this system is to secure the electrical grid. The network administrator does not have the certainty of needing to request load shedding, but this insurance ensures it can meet electricity supply demands instantly.

Why is the load shedding contract particularly important for industry?

Industry, especially production lines, continuously uses energy-intensive machines due to their speed and size. Therefore, the most significant immediate energy savings can be achieved in industrial installations. This is where the most substantial and most remunerative energy shedding contracts are found.

Methods of applying the energy shedding contract in industry

You determine the amount of energy you can cut on demand when establishing the contract. However, it does not mean completely halting your production. It’s important to identify which sector of the company or chain can be paused.

This saving can be achieved using alternative energies, such as generators, or by pausing part of the chain, sometimes using a buffer stock to cushion the temporary production drop.

To clarify the industrial electrical load shedding contract, let’s take an example:

An industrial plant with four production lines subscribes to a load shedding contract with a shedding operator.
The operator orders the plant to provide its shedding capacity for the electrical grid.
The load shedding contract specifies that the company must shed x GW, requiring the company to stop one production line. This system can be managed in two different ways:
- The industrial company can stop a production line immediately upon request.
- The company has on-site electricity production with generators. When asked to shed consumption, it starts the generators to supply electricity to the production line.
In return, the plant receives income for performing this load shedding.

Why is the load shedding contract particularly important today?

There are two main reasons why energy shedding contracts are currently more emphasized. First, energy consumption is becoming increasingly difficult to predict, with heating gradually turning back on, the state encouraging energy savings, and the ecological awareness changing the habits of some French people. It is crucial for RTEs to have increased flexibility to meet this shifting objective. Second, winter is approaching. Energy suppliers anticipate an increase in demand and potential energy shortages. With the context of the war in Russia, some energy circuits will no longer supply European households. Alternative means must be found to reduce France’s energy consumption while continuing to supply homes and limit the use of the most polluting energies, such as coal.

How Dametis helps you obtain a better load shedding contract

The more you can limit your energy consumption, the more profitable your load shedding contract will be. However, overestimating your capacity to save energy could impact your production and delay delivery deadlines.

Implementing energy efficiency principles

Dametis supports you beyond simple energy savings. Once your needs are assessed, we advise you on reducing your energy consumption to benefit from an energy shedding contract or increasing your production without consuming more energy.

1. We identify your equipment, your industrial process, and their electrical consumption.
2. We detect opportunities for flexibility in the most energy-consuming equipment.
3. We define your site’s shedding potential considering your site’s production constraints.
4. We explore ways to optimize your site’s shedding potential.

Exploring alternatives

This is where Dametis intervenes: we map your energy installation with the installation of sensors and our MyDametis software. We quantify the energy consumption of each production chain segment with you and help you determine: Installations that can be temporarily paused The amount of infrastructure that can continue operating with alternative energies, like your generator. These measurements are essential because knowing the exact amount of energy you can forego allows you to obtain the highest revenue from your RTE.

Facilitated monitoring and reporting to fulfill your contract

Once the load shedding contract is in place, you must prove that you have limited your consumption at the requested times. Dametis makes your electrical grid smart (or transforms it into a smart grid), allowing you to easily record and communicate this information to ensure the transparency of your energy shedding contract. This prevents any disputes or litigation from the power transmission network.

Dametis assists you in fulfilling your load shedding contract

To maximize your energy, whether with an energy shedding contract or increasing your production, contact Dametis and benefit from expert advice and support.

Anticipate and discuss your load shedding contract with Dametis!