insights
Peak load - why a single hour can increase the annual electricity bill
How individual demand peaks drive capacity charges and why load management is one of the fastest levers for industrial customers.
A single hour with unusually high consumption can materially increase grid-fee payments for an entire month or year. Not because of the kilowatt-hours consumed, but because of the peak power demand reached in kilowatts.
That is the peak-load problem. It is also one of the most common unused savings opportunities in German industry.
Why peak load costs money
In Germany, grid fees for large consumers are calculated not only on consumed energy (kWh), but also on the highest monthly or annual load peak (kW).
That means a single hour with extremely high consumption can significantly increase grid-fee cost for a whole month or year, regardless of how efficient the rest of the operation is.
Example calculation
| Scenario | Annual consumption | Peak load | Grid capacity charge (approx.) | Annual capacity cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Without optimisation | 10 GWh | 2,500 kW | 80 EUR/kW/year | EUR 200,000 |
| With peak shaving | 10 GWh | 1,800 kW | 80 EUR/kW/year | EUR 144,000 |
| Saving | -28% | EUR 56,000/year |
Causes of unwanted demand peaks
- Simultaneous start-up of several energy-intensive machines such as motors, presses, and furnaces
- Refrigeration compressors or air conditioning in summer
- Motor start-up currents, especially for large pumps and compressors
- Uncontrolled vehicle charging infrastructure
- Production restart after a weekend or shift change, the classic Monday peak
How Meteoric manages peak load
Meteoric analyses the 15-minute load profile and identifies the root causes of demand peaks. Measures are then developed and supported:
- Start-up control - time-staggered start-up of energy-intensive equipment.
- Load management - targeted shifting of less time-critical processes out of peak periods.
- Monitoring - real-time monitoring of current load in the Meteoric customer portal.
- Contract optimisation - selecting the right grid tariff structure, including low/high tariff structures and capacity-charge optimisation.
The result is a reduction in grid-capacity charges without reducing total consumption.
Peak load and §19 StromNEV
Shifting loads into periods of lower grid utilisation offers industrial sites one of the largest savings opportunities in non-energy electricity costs. If consumption is deliberately moved outside site-specific high-load windows, for example to nights or weekends, capacity charges can be reduced substantially.
By precisely analysing your load-profile data against the grid operator’s specific high-load windows, Meteoric identifies the potential for atypical grid usage and quantifies the achievable cost saving.
Switch now