Peak Management

Peak Management has already saved over $60 million for cooperative members across the state.

Peak Management is a completely voluntary program that enables your electric Cooperative to control the use of electricity at certain times to help control costs.

Peak demand is reduced by controlling electric hot water heaters and home heating or cooling systems in participating members' homes.

In fact, over the past 20 years, Peak Management has saved Ohio’s electric cooperatives over $60 million, with less than half of the members participating. Can you imagine how much more could be saved if everybody participated?

Controlling peak demand is key to low rates.

The goal of the Peak Management program is to control peak demand, which is the amount of electricity required by an electric utility’s customers all at one time. So a peak demand occurs when consumers demand more electricity than ever before.

Peak demands are most likely to occur on the hottest afternoons of the summer between the hours of 2:00 and 6:00 p.m. Or, in the winter, when the temperature and wind chill plummets between the hours of 5:00 and 9:00 p.m.

You see, your cooperative’s costs for power are determined by the maximum, or peak, amount of power used. When that peak goes up, so do the costs.

But in order for the Peak Management program to reach its full potential, more people need to participate, and allow their electric cooperative to install a free radio-controlled switch on their home’s electric hot water heater, heat pump, air conditioner or geothermal system.

How does the Peak Management system work?

Ohio Rural Electric Cooperative’s (OREC)Peak Management system uses advanced satellite communications and microcomputer technology to monitor the amount of electricity that cooperative members statewide are using every moment of every day. Peak Management personnel also monitor weather conditions across Ohio, and study the latest weather forecasts. With this information, they can determine how much electricity will be needed and used at any given time period on those few occasions when demand will reach a new peak level. A Peak Alert is issued when a new peak load is expected. Individual cooperatives then relay this message to their members.

Next, OREC sends a radio signal to a satellite orbiting far above Earth. This satellite relays the signal to 32 radio base stations, which then control the RCSs, temporarily shutting off power to participating electric water heaters and heating or cooling systems.

Tips for reducing peak demands.

	Turn your thermostat up a few degrees in the summer and down a few degrees in the winter;
	Turn off lights in unoccupied rooms;
	Delay that shower or bath;
	Cut back on your use of washers, dryers, ranges, dishwashers and as many other appliances as possible.