Group Load Curtailment Using an Integrated Communications/Load Control Network

Reducing electric peak demand and supplying electric service options are key goals for PGandE in the late 1980's and 1990's. To achieve these goals, increased utility/customer interactions are required. PGandE's Group Load Curtailment (GLC) experiment is designed to achieve both goals by linking several customers together to collectively shed load during periods of minimum electric reserves. The link is through microcomputers, located at the customers' facilities, which are networked to a central minicomputer located at PGandE's corporate offices. The system provides both PGandE's and the customers' operations personnel with real-time demand data, an accurate measure of load relief, historical data for performance evaluation, and a method of communicating with one another. This paper addresses the technical innovations of the system used for the GLC concept, and how the system and concept provide key stepping stones for future developments in load management.