April 23, 2008—Reducing the voltage on power distribution can continue meeting consumer expectations while saving energy for both the customer and the utility, according to a recent study performed by R. W. Beck.
“Delivering reduced voltage to individual consumers—while remaining within utility bandwidth standards—results in significant cost savings for the customer and utility due to reduced meter demand for energy,” says K.C. Fagen, project manager for the Distribution Efficiency Initiative (DEI). “Our research highlights correctable inefficiencies in the distribution systems based on the 10 substations and 31 distribution feeders included.”
R. W. Beck collaborated with the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance, RLW Analytics, Auriga, Inc., Hunt Power and 13 Pacific Northwest utilities on DEI, a two-part study that investigated the effects of power consumption in relation to the applied voltage. Utilizing advanced software to collect and analyze individual meter data, the DEI team applied the results by performing system improvements on feeders and was able to reduce the overall voltage 3 percent and energy consumption by 2 percent.
R. W. Beck advances financial, energy, water/wastewater and solid waste enterprises by applying technical expertise and business acumen to help solve complex problems. For more on the company, see its Web site.
