Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by AnthonyMouse 39 days ago
> What you have described is an obviously terrible system that doesn’t incentivize lower power consumption.

Doesn't it? Suppose you have a battery system which has access to the current price, so it charges when it's cheap and discharges when it's expensive. Then you don't pay the $19/kWh, you run on batteries then -- or sell at $19/kWh. And thereby turn a profit from installing the battery system, creating the incentive to reduce consumption when the price is high.
1 comments
idontwantthis 39 days ago
A system where you are incentivized to give up for the rest of the month if you were to high once doesn’t make sense. I am skeptical that the description was accurate.
link
jonhohle 39 days ago
It’s a peak demand charge. They look at the highest usage hour from 4-7pm every weekday. The highest number adds a charge billed at $19/kw demand.

https://www.aps.com/en/Residential/Service-Plans/Compare-Ser...

link
bluefirebrand 39 days ago
It doesn't really incentivize that, but it doesn't punish it either

You would have to be really sure there wasn't going to be a higher peak later in the month

link
AnthonyMouse 39 days ago
If the demand charge is always from 4-7PM and you have at least three hours worth of batteries at your own peak usage then your usage during that period can always be zero, because you have the other 21 hours in the day to charge them back up for tomorrow.
link