Spokane Valley colleagues - working with cold storage facility that's considering switch from Avista Schedule 25 (Large General Service) to Schedule 31 TOU. Facility runs 24/7 refrigeration with peak demand around 850 kW, pretty consistent load factor of 0.78. Current monthly bills average $52,000 on Schedule 25 flat rates. Avista rep claims Schedule 31 TOU could save 15-20% but I'm skeptical given that refrigeration loads don't have much flexibility for peak avoidance. Anyone analyzed these specific Avista schedules for cold storage applications? The TOU peak periods are 6am-10am and 6pm-10pm which seems designed for residential patterns, not industrial.
Avista Schedule 25 TOU vs Schedule 31 comparison - which makes sense for cold storage?
Dale, cold storage is tough for TOU optimization because you can't really shift refrigeration loads without risking product integrity. That said, 850 kW at 0.78 load factor suggests pretty steady operation which could work well with TOU if peak periods align favorably. Key question is what percentage of their 850 kW demand occurs during those 6am-10am and 6pm-10pm windows? If they can demonstrate low coincidence with Avista system peaks, Schedule 31 might work. But be careful - cold storage facilities often have defrost cycles that spike demand unpredictably, and those could hit peak periods.
David's right about defrost cycle timing being critical. Here in Omaha we deal with similar cold storage TOU decisions with OPPD. The 15-20% savings Avista quoted sounds optimistic unless facility has significant non-refrigeration loads that can shift. Dale what's the breakdown between refrigeration vs other loads like lighting, office space, loading docks? Sometimes cold storage facilities can shift dock operations and administrative functions to off-peak periods even if refrigeration runs constant. Also check if Schedule 31 has seasonal variations - summer TOU benefits might not hold during winter months when heating loads change system peak patterns.