Case studies in managing distributed assets

The deregulation of the utility market makes for the use of distributed generation a viable solution for managing energy costs. Standby generators, once installed only to handle outages, now can serve as a component of spinning reserve and as a means of shaving load peaks. A softload transfer switch with controls, protection, metering and remote communications provides an economical solution to manage distributed assets. A partnership between the utility and the equipment manufacturer provides a solution to the customer's power quality concerns. Another successful application is where a customer installs a system with peak sharing capabilities, either integral to the softload transfer switch or as a dedicated design. This gives the utility a generation resource close to their loads that can be dispatched during peak times. In this case, the utility pays a monthly incentive to the customer for the availability of this resource. The customer also has the ability to monitor, peak share or separate when necessary. These solutions include applications of specific equipment; customer oriented maintenance programs, customized control and affordable financing.