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Fort Collins Utilities' Peak Partners Program Reaches Milestone, Celebrates 1,000th Event

Posted on: Aug-26-2019

This summer, just five years after Utilities' Peak Partners Program launched, the 1,000th electric peak-reduction 'event' was achieved, helping the program become an even stronger grid management platform.

Peak Partners began in June 2014 as a program to reduce energy use during costly peak hours when the community’s electric consumption is at its highest. Field and marketing services, end devices and the software platform for this Distributed Energy Management (DEM) program were provided by Itron, Inc.

Peak Partners started as a small voluntary thermostat program that reduced air-conditioning use during peak hours by triggering events that coordinate air conditioning across the city.  

Another component of Peak Partners is the electric water heater program that offers customers various levels of participation, with events geared to reduce peak use at higher increments.

Utilities implemented Time-Of-Day (TOD) residential electric pricing in 2018. To better align with TOD pricing, all participating thermostats were upgraded to include a pre-cooling and pre-warming period to further decrease electric use during on-peak hours.

Water heater customers also were provided with the option to participate in load shifting, which turns off the heating elements for a portion or full duration of the on-peak period. On average, this service saves participating customers approximately 5% on their electric utility bill.

Currently, Peak Partners includes:

  • Direct-installed Wi-Fi thermostats and cellular-based controllers for electric water heaters
  • OpenADR VTN head-end for commercial customers
  • Bring your own thermostat (BYOT) programs (Nest and Honeywell)
  • Home electric-use monitors available for checkout at local libraries
  • Cellular-based controllers for public and City fleet electric vehicle charging stations.

Future opportunities include the exploration and possible addition of battery storage capabilities to its peak-management portfolio. For more information, visit peakpartnersfortcollins.com, call 855-350-1464 or email peakpartners@fcgov.com.

 

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