Rural Electric Demand Research

In cooperative research with rural power suppliers in Nebraska, 35 recording demand meters were installed. The demand study was started in December of 1980 and concluded in March of 1983. Data collection in Nebraska was concentrated in a five-county area in eastcentral Nebraska. Customers were sampled based on a stratified randomized design. Electrical demands were recorded for 5-min intervals. Coincidental peak demands for 60-min intervals were determined for selected peak power use days in 1981 and 1982. In addition, 15-min coincidental demands showing maximum average and minimum demands for each month for the two-year study are presented. Demands predicted by the Rural Electrification Administration demand tables were generally lower than the measured demands while demands predicted by linear regression analysis were higher than the measured demands. Measured coincidental peak demands per customer for the total of all stratified groups ranged from 5.7 to 8.6 kW.