Got a weird one here in Boise with Idaho Power. Manufacturing client makes automotive parts, operates two 12-hour shifts Monday through Friday. But their usage shows massive spikes every Sunday at 3 AM when the plant should be completely shut down. We're talking 800 kW demand spikes that last about 4 hours. Plant manager swears nothing is scheduled to run on Sundays. Anyone seen phantom loads like this before?
Manufacturing client usage patterns make no sense
Pete, that screams automated equipment cycling. Could be industrial washers, parts cleaning systems, or air compressor maintenance cycles that someone programmed years ago and forgot about. I'd get the plant engineer to walk the facility during one of those Sunday spikes with a clamp meter. Bet you find some equipment that's been running phantom cycles for years because nobody updated the controller programming.
Had something similar at a FedEx facility here in Memphis on MLGW. Turned out their parts washer system was running a full cleaning cycle every Sunday morning automatically, even when the plant was closed. Cost them about $2,400 a month in unnecessary demand charges. Check any cleaning equipment, compressor auto-drain systems, or automated maintenance cycles that might be timer-based instead of production-based.