INCREASING DSM SAVINGS ON A PROCESS PLANT BY SELECTING THE CORRECT TARIFF STRUCTURE

South African industries are under increasing budgetary pressure with the current rise of electricity costs above inflation. In addition to this, industries that are supplied through municipalities have to cope with additional service costs of up to 20%. These consumers are therefore compelled to find new ways of saving electricity. Further, in order to decrease the country's peak electrical load profile, Eskom has implemented different tariff structures. These are designed for various different electricity consumption conditions. Customers therefore need to integrate and simulate their power consumption with their production forecasts in order to decide on the best tariff structure and operation of the plant. Different tariff structures have different advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, a clear understanding of these tariffs is necessary before a tariff structure is chosen. As part of this study, a case study was done on a processing plant. This study analysed the Demand Side Management (DSM) strategy as well as the selection of the best tariff structure for maximum savings. The optimum simulated operational plan together with tariff structure changes were implemented successfully. The case study proved that cost savings were also achieved despite a variation in the production.