How do we feel about electricity companies controlling when our fridge compressor kicks in, or our dishwasher does its stuff? Gordon thinks it' s good idea and you have to say he has a point. At the moment UK electricity consumption fluctuates wildly from 30 to 60 gigawatts through the day and the only tool that engineers at National Grid have to cope with the spikes in demand is the "spinning reserve" . This simply means that additional power stations are kept running, but their electricity output is not used, just to be ready for any increase in demand. Estimates suggest that we produce over 2 million tonnes of unnecessary CO2 each year, just in case we all decide to have a cup of tea at the same time.
Dynamic demand attempts to divert attention from the supply side and refocus on managing demand, in order to smooth out the profile. In practical terms this means re engineering domestic appliances like fridges, dishwashers and immersion heaters to "listen" to the grid and operate when demand is low, not high. This seems like a good idea but I'm sure we'll see resistance from those (probably climate change protesters!) who feel their privacy is being invaded.
The role out of smart meters next year will pave the way for this sort of intelligent grid and it seems like it's only a matter of time before you'll be able to blame the utility company for forgetting to turn the dishwasher on.
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