1 Getting Started
The Load Shifting Cloud Service, Rate Coach provides multiple features that facilitate peak hour and demand reduction and educate customers about electric plans with Time of Use (TOU) or demand rates. These features deliver load shifting insights to customers that educate them about how they are using electricity, and provide them with recommendations on how to shift or reduce their electric use in order to save money. By educating customers about their plans, these insights help customers reduce their spending and lower their monthly bills.
The Load Shifting Cloud Service, Rate Coach focuses on helping customers with interval data save money on their electric plans by providing them with insights specific to their rate plans. Customers with TOU electric plans are encouraged to shift their usage to off-peak hours. Customers with demand rate electric plans are encouraged to lower their demand. Utilities use TOU and demand rate plans to recover their costs, integrate distributed energy resources, and create a more equitable grid.
In a TOU plan, electricity costs fluctuate depending on the time of day, and how the utility defines peak, partial-peak, and off-peak hours. For example, peak hours might be defined as weekdays between 1:00 PM and 7:00 PM from May through September.
In a demand rate plan, customers typically have peak periods and pricing that are similar to a TOU plan, but they also incur a demand charge for their highest hour of peak usage during the billing period.
The following components are available in this service: