Your shop demand meter!

**Concours.John** · 09-30-2011, 11:03 AM

If you have a fixed location or a business this might be interesting.
If you don`t know what a demand meter is it is a needle indicator on the front of your electrical meter for business electric. The meter logs your peak demand based on percentages for the month. It is reset each month. This affects your bill.

When I first moved into the shop my peak demand was 27.5%. That was during winter running floor sanders all sorts of tools a 220V fan and 220V electric heater plus other 110 heaters.

Ever since spring I have kept my demand no higher than 10% mostly 5% and 4% as the meter says the day of the reading. I just happened to look closer at my bill and have been charged 20.6% on average and 25%-26% jun-aug. I watch this meter and the time where I hit 10% was with 4 fans added during the heat of summer.

I do my best to conserve and last month as the meter reader came in I took a picture with my phone 4.5%. I recieved my bill 20.6%.

I called and asked my supplier and asked what was going on. I was told exactly what I wrote in the first paragragh of this thread. (Which I already knew)

I asked if your not using that demand why are you being charged for it. I was told there are peak usage months. The thing that bugs me is what is the point of a small business to watch and conserve if the utility company is going to "plug" in a different number than the actual reading. I started thinking how much false revenue this creates with businesses that just store or use it as a base station.

Being "Green" costs more money to do. It just seems like this is another way to get back what is lost when people conserve more. I guess it is "ok" to do it to a business since it is written of as a cost of doing business.

What this boils down to is a cost that gets passed down to the consumer unfairly. As a business you have to do it. I know as I keep calling around and trying to figure this out I`m poking the bear. Im just curious how many of you really watch your meter.

I`ll lend my soapbox to the next person now.

**Bunky** · 09-30-2011, 11:48 AM

In the end the power companies will recover their costs from the consumers. They have a lot of fixed costs plus variable so in low demand or high demand they may charge more. Of course, CEO salaries have to go up no matter what so that needs to be covered...another type of demand.

**Concours.John** · 09-30-2011, 11:58 AM

Originally Posted by Bunky

In the end the power companies will recover their costs from the consumers. They have a lot of fixed costs plus variable so in low demand or high demand they may charge more. Of course, CEO salaries have to go up no matter what so that needs to be covered...another type of demand.

Fully agree and understand. Your forced to pay or stand in the dark.

**Old Pirate** · 09-30-2011, 02:25 PM

I had a shop many years ago that had a special meter that was control by the electric company that was connected to my electric meter box that they would shut down doing very high peak demand ( summer daytime hours ), which would suck when one is working. I had them remove it because of the problems it would cause me working on customers cars during the summer. ( it was there to help with saving money.....B.S. I say ) Just like Bunky has wrote " Your forced to pay or stand in the dark "

**fergnation** · 09-30-2011, 09:58 PM

I was charged a 300 dollar deposit because of a change in my credit score. Even though I have never been late on a bill or had it shut off. Just out of the blue I got a letter saying they were charging me this deposit. It didn`t matter whether I could pay it or not. So either pay this extra 300 dollars or have your electricity shut off.

Times are a changing whether you lilke it or not. I just prefer to go down swinging!!

**Stokdgs** · 10-01-2011, 01:21 AM

I think perhaps our only solution is to see how much solar panels cost vs how much "extra" we pay for not getting the product, and hopefully the technology is such that it might make it viable. I understand it not only is panels but batteries to store the energy as well, so maybe this may not ever be viable.. Just a thought.
How about bringing a big generator over and installing it in your own electrical panel that connects to your equipment, installing a breaker to shut off commercial power and running off a generator?
I have a set up like this now in my house panel. Square D makes the breaker as I am sure other breaker manufacturers do as well..
It sucks that they can do this with impunity. I better go look at my bill right now..

Dan F