Introduction of Peak-Load Pricing in Europe,

Some form of peak-load pricing has been practiced in Britain and France for the last several decades. While the greatest gains in terms of cost saving have taken place at the industrial level, both countries have found it profitable to extend some form of time-of-day tariff to the residential consumer. The major loads which have been modulated in response to these price signals are those associated with storage heating. The storage devices are generally automatically switched on when the cheaper electricity is available. A recurrent problem which has prompted evolution of the British tariffs has been the starting load when large numbers of thermostatically controlled loads are initially switched on. Staggered time periods are used in the newer tariffs to alleviate this problem and avoid aritificial system peaks. The French do not seem to be bothered by this problem at present. Author