World Grain - November 2023 - 56

MILLING OPERATIONS
Figur Electrical costse 2
Country
Spain
Germany
Japan
Haiti
Australia
Philippines
United States
Brazil
Cameroon
Italy
China
Netherlands
France
Morocco
Canada
Nigeria
Korea, Rep.
Indonesia
Argentina
Egypt, Arab Rep.
Romania
Turkey
Russian
Federation
Ukraine
Kazakhstan
Average
Max.
Min.
Range
Std. Dev.
US cents/
kWh
26.0
25.6
21.2
21.1
20.4
18.1
18.1
17.5
17.0
16.8
14.6
14.4
13.6
12.4
12.3
11.9
11.4
10.9
10.8
9.7
9.2
8.9
8.4
6.4
4.4
14.4
26.0
4.4
21.6
5.6
Electrical energy cost in top wheat
producing/importing countries.
fees is an important first step.
The source of energy or power varies
and may include solar, wind, gas other fuels,
coal, nuclear and hydro power. Electricity
companies may pull from various
facilities with different sources of power
that is transmitted across the grid. Electrical
power is provided through the distribution
system or grid cover the mill's
base and peak demand requirements.
Electrical usage or consumption is the
total amount of electricity used in the
facility measured in the United States as
kWh and is billed at a rate determined by
contract. The word " contract " suggests
an opportunity for negotiation that can
be entered into and may be impacted by
electrical energy source flexibility. Electrical
demand charges measure the rate of
electrical consumption over a period.
Lowering electrical demand
The electrical demand of your plant requires
the electric company to build and
maintain necessary infrastructure to meet
the plant's energy demand. The demand
charge may appear on the invoice or bill
as demand charge, demand cost, transmissions
and delivery or some other term
that should be made clear to the miller.
The demand for electricity in your mill
may vary over the course of the day and
it is the peak demand during the month
upon which the demand charge is billed.
Electric motors when turned on experience
a significant current in rush to overcome
inertia and cause the motor to turn.
That inrush of energy (amperage) is 7 to
9 times greater than the full load amperage
rating of the motor. Starting a motor
is certainly a peak demand period for that
motor. Now imagine how much demand
would be required to start all the motors
in the mill at once.
There are various types of demand
charges depending on contract language.
Actual demand is the observed peak
from last month. Billed demand may be
an adjustment to real demand based on
when the demand occurs, for example,
" coincidental peak clauses, " facility peak
demand when the grid is at its peak or
" ratchet clauses, " 80% of maximum demand
from the last 12 months.
Lowering demand costs requires man56
aging
your mill's load profile using one
of two main strategies. The first strategy
is load-shedding where certain units of
the facility may be shut down temporarily
to reduce demand. The second strategy
is to transfer load to off peak hours.
Some utilities offer incentives to shed or
shift load during high grid stress events.
Electricity consumption on the grid
typically cycles each day with the lowest
demand occurring around 5 a.m. and
the highest demand occurring at some
point during the day (depending on the
season), before falling back down during
late evening hours. This variation in electricity
demand follows the daily patterns
of energy use by households and businesses,
but it is especially dependent on
weather-related factors.
Hourly electricity load in the United
States is generally highest in the summer
months when demand peaks in the
afternoon as households and businesses
are using air conditioning on hot days.
During the winter months, hourly electricity
load is less variable but peaks in
both the morning and the evening. Load
is generally lowest in the spring and autumn
when homes and businesses have
less need for space heating or cooling.
Clearly, there are many factors contributing
to energy costs in a milling operation
hidden in the electrical bill itself.
There are contractual discussions to be
had with the mill's electrical suppliers as
well as internal operational management
decisions that can be made to reduce demand
and peak demand charges or costs.
In addition to basic consumption and
demand charges, there are often fixed
charges associated with simply being a
customer and having a meter that must
be monitored and maintained. Also, there
are various taxes, fees and penalties that
may be incurred. The penalties may include
late payment fees as well as power
factor penalties to be presented in the
next article.
Jeff Gwirtz, a milling industry consultant, is president of
JAG Services, Inc. He may be reached
at jgwirtz@att.net.
We want to hear from you - Send comments and
inquiries to worldgrain@sosland.com. For reprints of
WG articles, email reprints@sosland.com.
November 2023 / World Grain / World-Grain.com
Source: Jeff Gwirtz
http://www.World-Grain.com
World Grain - November 2023

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