Demand-side management (DSM) has been traditionally seen as a means of
reducing peak electricity demand so that utilities can delay building further
capacity. In fact, by reducing the overall load on an electricity network, DSM has
various beneficial effects, including mitigating electrical system emergencies,
reducing the number of blackouts and increasing system reliability. Possible
benefits can also include reducing dependency on expensive imports of fuel,
reducing energy prices, and reducing harmful emissions to the environment.
Finally, DSM has a major role to play in deferring high investments in generation,
transmission and distribution networks. Thus DSM applied to electricity
systems provides significant economic, reliability and environmental benefits.
When DSM is applied to the consumption of energy in general—not just electricity
but fuels of all types—it can also bring significant cost benefits to energy
users (and corresponding reductions in emissions). Opportunities for reducing
energy demand are numerous in all sectors and many are low-cost, or even nocost,
items that most enterprises or individuals could adopt in the short term, if
good energy management is practised.
This module examines the types of DSM measures that can reduce energy
demand for the end-user, that can manage and control loads from the utility side,
and that can convert unsustainable energy practices into more efficient and
sustainable energy use. The module includes a review of housekeeping and
preventative maintenance, two of the simplest and most effective ways of reducing
demand, and discusses marketing of DSM programmes. Some of the challenges
that face the implementation of DSM programmes are also examined