Critical Peak Day Pricing - Pilot Project
Background
With the increase in the demand of electricity, Eskom's power system is under severe constraint. One of the consequences of the increase in the demand for electricity is that the cost of supplying electricity has also increased significantly.
In an effort to keep electricity costs down, encourage demand response and improve customer decision-making during system constrained days, electricity utilities around the world are taking a new approach to their customers - viewing them not as passive consumers, but as potential active partners in the industry,who are empowered and incentivised with appropriate price signals.
As part of Eskom's efforts to keep the lights on, Eskom aims to introduce a new critical peak day tariff, which encourages electricity savings and empowers customers to become active participants in demand response.
What are Critical Peak Days?
A critical peak day is a day that is predetermined by Eskom, during which the national power system is severely constrained. On such constrained days, emergency measures are usually taken to avoid any interruption of supply, including the use of very expensive power generation.
Eskom will be testing the customers response to critical peak days and for the pilot, the number of critical peak days is limited to 17 days in the year (5% of the year).
How does critical peak day tariff work?
On critical peak days, where notification is sent a day ahead, the energy charges that will be applied from 06h00 to 22h00 will be significantly higher. This will provide customers with a signal to respond by either curtailing or reducing their consumption or paying the critical peak day rates. For the remaining days (non - critical peak days), the price is lower to compensate for the higher rates during the critical peak day. If you decide not to curtail or reduce your consumption during the critical peak day, you will pay a much higher rate on the day, but your average price over the period of one year will be the same as if you had been on the standard tariff. If you curtail or reduce your consumption on the critical peak day, your average annual price will be lower than being on the standard tariff.
Customers will be given 24 hours notification via sms and e-mail before the occurrence of a critical peak day, so that planning for the curtailment or reduction in the use of electricity can be done. A reminder sms will be sent on the day.
Customers are strongly advised to curtail or reduce their electricity consumption from 06h00 to 22h00 on a critical peak day.
What does the critical peak day tariff look like?
The critical peak day tariff for Miniflex, Ruraflex, Nightsave Small and Rural tariffs are the same as the existing tariff structures, with changes only to the energy rates. Except for the change in the energy rates, all other components of the tariff such as network access, environmental levy, service, administration, electrification and rural subsidy, reactive energy, energy demand and transmission network charges will remain the same.
To view your 2012/13 Ruraflex critical peak day tariff, click here.
To view your 2012/13 Miniflex critical peak day tariff, click here.
To view your 2012/13 Nightsave Urban Small critical peak day tariff, click here.
To view your 2012/13 Nightsave Rural critical peak day tariff, click here.
Note: The 2013/14 rates will be available shortly.
Benefits of the critical peak day pricing tariff:
The critical peak day pricing tariff has been designed to allow customers who can actively curtail, reduce or shift their electricity consumption on certain days to significantly reduce their total electricity bill.
Customers that do curtail, reduce or shift their electricity consumption on critical peak days benefit from the lower energy charges for 95% of the year by avoiding the higher critical peak day energy charges.
Which days are critical peak days?
It is not easy to predict when the system will be severely constrained as the Systems Operator typically knows a day or two in advance and sometimes only a couple of hours in advance.
For the pilot testing of the critical peak day tariff, there will be a maximum of 17 critical peak days in the year - and not more than two consecutive critical peak days per month.
Are you interested in participating?
Should you wish to participate in this pilot, click here to print and complete the attached amendment agreement relating to the critical peak day tariff pilot and return the signed copy to criticalpeakday@eskom.co.za. Any further enquiries can also be sent to this e-mail address.
Eskom urges you to partner with us to keep the lights on and save on your electricity usage. This will make it significantly easier to manage the power system during this challenging time and increase the power system reliability.
For more information on how to save on your electricity consumption, visit www.eskomidm.co.za.
