Load Research & Profiling in Energy Efficiency

Electricity pricing is complex because electricity cannot be economically stored, making it essential to understand customer consumption patterns and peak demands. In Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), the maximum daily consumption on December 31, 2008, was 1,425,470 customers, with the majority being household customers. The characteristic daily load curve in 2008 showed a typical peak demand in the late afternoon and early evening hours. Electricity consumption in BiH was primarily driven by household customers, accounting for 41.68% of total consumption, followed by commercial customers on 0.4 kV, industrial customers on 110 kV, and public lighting. The power system in BiH measures active energy, reactive power, and capacity for various customer categories, including households, commercial customers, and industrial customers. Metering of active energy is performed for all categories, while metering of reactive power and capacity is performed for specific categories. The majority of customers, approximately 99.9%, are at the 0.4 kV level. Proper allocation of costs to customers is essential for rational energy consumption and reduction of greenhouse gases. However, in BiH, actual costs are not properly allocated due to the lack of a load diagram, which enables more precise allocation of costs for the operation of the electricity system. To address this issue, the installation of 1.4 million meters to measure capacity is being performed on samples of characteristic customer loads. The sampling methodology involves selecting approximately 1,000 samples in advance and metering them for a period of 12 months. The result is load curves for customers on the 0.4 kV voltage level, which can be used to classify customers according to load diagram characteristics. This approach is being implemented in BiH to improve the allocation of costs and promote rational energy usage. The importance of load research and profiling in energy efficiency cannot be overstated. By understanding customer electricity usage patterns, utilities can develop targeted pricing strategies and energy efficiency programs to reduce peak demand and promote sustainable energy consumption. In BiH, the implementation of load research and profiling is expected to contribute to a more efficient and sustainable electricity system.