An experiment in real time pricing for control of electric thermal storage systems

The authors present the results of an experiment designed to test the economic benefits of real-time pricing (RTP) used to schedule electric thermal storage (ETS) systems in a New York utility´s service territory during the winter of 1989-1990. Three customers with EST systems were placed on an experimental RTP rate for their heating load only. A complete automated RTP-based control system was designed and retrofitted in place of the existing time-of-use (TOU)-based control system. The design, development, and implementation of the experimental RTP rate, customer response algorithms, and the energy management systems are described. Costs to the utility of the provision of service went down by about 10% beyond savings achieved under the TOU-based control system for a system with no storage