OPEN SEASON!

Triad season is upon us! For those in the energy game it is a time of strategic austerity, in terms of energy use at least, which could mean BIG savings for the rest of the year. For businesses not big or lucky enough to have an Energy manager, Dr Azad Camyab of Pearlstone Energy tells you all you need to know about Triads and Transmission Network Use of System (TNUoS) charges...

What are TNUoS charges?

TNUoS charges (buried deep in your energy bills) recover the cost of installing and maintaining the transmission system in England, Wales, Scotland and Offshore. In short this means the cost of delivering energy from where it is produced to your business and everything in between. As a business drawing energy, billed by half-hourly increments, you will be subject to TNUoS charges. These can be typically be between 5-10% of your energy bill.

How are TNUoS charges calculated?

Two factors come into play when determining TNUoS charges, your ‘demand zone tariff’, and the energy consumed.

Your demand zone tariff is based on geography. The greater the distance between where energy is produced and you (where energy is consumed) and the complexity of the transmission network will mean a higher tariff. For example, the highest tariff in the UK is in London, where there are many buildings drawing energy with no local power generating capability. For these reasons and more, London is the most expensive demand zone. In contrast, the cheapest tariff is in Scotland where there are multiple traditional power plants and many offshore renewable facilities as well.

In order for National Grid to gather an accurate picture of how much energy is consumed by each building, it takes the average reading at three ‘peak’ moments during the year when businesses will draw the most energy, putting maximum strain on the energy network. These moments are called, you guessed it, Triads! Triads always fall between November and February each year when energy consumption is at its peak, mostly due to cold weather and when heating is dialled up. We also know they will happen on weekdays between 4pm-7pm as these are the peak moments during each day when energy consumption is at its highest again.

OK, So what can I do to reduce TNUoS?

Now that you know why, how and when, the natural next question is what do you do about it? Turning everything off during these times for four months of the year will likely hit your productivity. Hard! But there is another option…

Pearlstone works in partnership with National Grid to help balance supply and demand of energy using Demand Side Response (DSR) technology. It has helped its customers save thousands of pounds, of their annual TNUoS charges, by manipulating energy consumption during key Triad moments. That’s HUGE!

Of course, National Grid does not advertise when Triads will occur, Pearlstone are experts at predicting them. It has developed its own sophisticated formula and adapted it over many years so that this process is more accurate today than it has ever been.

Furthermore, Pearlstone’s Virtual Integrated Building (ViB) technology puts you in control of how much energy is consumed during Triads. Rather than turning off, scheduling a turn-down event means a customer can choose to turn down either dedicated equipment such as Heating Ventilation and Cooling (HVAC), or the entire building. Research has shown that energy can be turned down by up to 20% without any perceived change in productivity or comfort. Once you have scheduled your turn-down events, ViB will automate your requests for Triads and for the rest of the year, in what we call a load-shed strategy, saving your even more on your energy bills.

If you are in need of help during this Triad season, please get in touch. If not, good luck and happy hunting.