Legal Definitions - peak demand

Peak demand refers to the specific moment or period when the consumption of a utility service, such as electricity, water, or internet, reaches its highest level within a defined timeframe. Utilities closely monitor peak demand to ensure they can meet customer needs, manage their infrastructure efficiently, and plan for future capacity.

• Example 1: Electricity Grid During a Heatwave
  Imagine a large metropolitan area experiencing an intense heatwave with temperatures consistently above 90 degrees Fahrenheit. On a particularly sweltering afternoon, between 2 PM and 6 PM, nearly every home and business activates their air conditioning systems simultaneously to combat the heat. This collective surge in electricity usage causes the local power utility's grid to register its highest demand for power during the entire summer season. This specific four-hour window represents the utility's peak demand for electricity, requiring them to have sufficient generation and transmission capacity to prevent blackouts.

• Example 2: Municipal Water Supply on a Weekday Morning
  Consider a suburban community on a typical weekday. Between 6:30 AM and 8:30 AM, residents are simultaneously showering, flushing toilets, running dishwashers, and watering their lawns before heading to work or school. During these two hours, the municipal water utility observes the highest volume of water being drawn from its reservoirs and distributed through its pipe network compared to any other time of day. This intense period of water consumption is the utility's peak demand for water, influencing the size and pressure of their pumping stations and pipelines.

• Example 3: Internet Service Provider on a Friday Evening
  A regional internet service provider (ISP) serves thousands of residential and small business customers. On a Friday evening, from 8 PM to 11 PM, a significant number of subscribers are simultaneously streaming high-definition movies, engaging in online gaming, participating in video calls, and downloading large files. This concentrated burst of data activity causes the ISP's network infrastructure to handle its maximum data traffic load for the week. This timeframe signifies the internet utility's peak demand for bandwidth, which dictates the capacity of their fiber optic cables and routing equipment.