Managing changes in peak demand from building and transportation electrification with energy efficiency

The Department of Energy funded Berkeley Lab to provide technical assistance to two municipal utilities on how energy efficiency and demand flexibility can mitigate the peak demand impacts of building and transportation electrification. 

Berkeley Lab worked with these utilities, Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) and Fort Collins Utilities, to identify research questions that supported their planning needs. For both utilities, Berkeley Lab developed scenario-based load forecasts that considered baseline and high-efficiency building electrification. For SMUD, the forecast also explored the sensitivity of peak demand to extreme weather (a winter cold snap) at the system-evel. For Fort Collins Utilities, the forecast addressed the impacts of low, medium, and high levels of building and transportation technology adoption on select distribution feeders.

Berkeley Lab is also developing a guidance document for utilities that will draw on lessons learned from the technical assistance and provide a framework for conducting similar analyses.