What is Demand?

Demand is the amount of power needed to supply every electrical device running in your home or business at a specific point in time. It is the maximum rate at which your household or business has consumed electricity.

Demand is measured and recorded at the 15-minute interval of your highest rate of power consumption during the billing month. Your high demand value re-sets at the beginning of the next month billing cycle.

Dakota Energy's wholesale rates are based on total co-op demand. Some members create more demand by using more appliances at the same time and as a result, a higher demand for electricity.

In the past, it was easier and cheaper to simply bill metered kWh usage. With Automated Metering Infrastructure (AMI) available today, DEC has the ability to show the demand, it makes sense to unbundle demand and make sure everyone pays their fair share, removing past subsidies among rate payers.

How can I find what my demand is? 

All households that use electricity create a certain level of demand. For some families, it will be a matter of deciding when to use appliances to help manage and reduce the demand. For some busy families, saving time will be more important than reducing demand.

The easiest way to reduce demand while meeting household energy consumption requirements is to spread usage throughout the day and night, perhaps using appliance timers.

Members can review household or business processes and determine if it's possible to perform high energy consuming tasks at different times of the day. Perhaps some appliances or equipment can be used in the morning and other appliances or equipment in the afternoon or evening to balance and reduce demand, with the goal of ultimately reducing peak demand.