Off Peak Heating & Cooling Program

Off-Peak Heating and Cooling – The duration and frequency of interruptions shall be at the discretion of GRPUC.  The off-peak electrical supply shall be separately served and metered and shall be connected only to room heating or room cooling equipment.

• a.  Off-Peak Heating – All premise electrical heating equipment shall be connected to the Load Management control system.  Customers will be continuously under load control during peak demand periods.  The off-peak electrical heating system will be unavailable as a heating source during peak system demand periods, which means cutting off the customer's electricity that supplies the main heating source.  The customer should consider installing a non-electrical automatic backup heating system that is sized to adequately heat their residence/building.  Electrical backup heating systems are not allowed.  If a backup system is not installed, the customer is advised to monitor their residence/building temperatures during periods of extremely cold temperatures so that proactive measures can be taken to protect their residence/building from freeze-up.
• b.  Off-Peak Cooling – All premise cooling equipment shall be connected to the Load Management control system.  Customer may select their preferred method of control:
  • i.  Continuous Control – The customer's interruptible electrical service is unavailable for the duration of the system's peak power demand.
  • ii.  Cycled Control – Method allows the customer's interruptible electrical service to be active during a portion of time during the system's peak power demand.  The electrical rate charged to a cycling control customer will be based upon the percentage of time the customer's interruptible service is active during the system's peak power demand.
• c. Heat Pumps – Customers with heat pumps who are participating in the Off-Peak Heating Program must also participate in the Off-Peak Cooling program and have all of their premise electrical heating and cooling equipment controlled by the Load Management control system.

Application for Participation – All customers wishing to participate in the Load Management program must sign an Application for Participation Load Management Program.

• This application is an agreement ensuring that the customer understands and conforms to all regulations.
• The customer will be required to sign a release that will hold harmless the Grand Rapids Public Utilities Commission in the event of damage or loss resulting from the interruption of the electrical heating system.
• Commercial/Industrial customers and customers with a complex HVAC system will be required to have their HVAC analyzed by a GRPUC Engineer or a GRPUC designated contractor in order to determine the most efficient and cost-effective means of controlling the load.
• If a customer, who has made an application to participate in said program, does not have his/her Load Management system installed, operational, and connected to the Public Utilities electrical distribution system within six months (6) of the date of application, his/her name will be removed from the active participation list.
• A connection fee must be paid by the customer prior to participating in the program.  Call the GRPUC Office for current pricing.
   

Equipment Furnished by Grand Rapids Public Utilities Commission (GRPUC) – The GRPUC will own, operate and maintain the following equipment:

• The Load Management controller (control switch),
• Meter base mounted contactor assembly (socket extender) – as required.
• Kilowatt-hour meter.

Installation of Equipment – The load management controller and related equipment must be installed in conformance with the existing State of Minnesota Electrical Code and the National Electrical Code.

• All related equipment shall be installed at the expense of the customer.
• If the capacity of the customer's current electric service is not sufficient to carry the additional electric load, the customer will be responsible for upgrading the electric service.  The cost of the upgrade will be at the customer's expense and in accordance with the current GRPUC Operating Policies.

Inspection by GRPUC – The GRPUC will be allowed to periodically inspect and test the operation of the load management controller and installation to assure proper operation and conformance to the regulations of the Load Management program.

Customer Load Management Billing – Participating Load Management customers will receive a monthly billing on KWH usage on their utility bills.  The rate will be an amount determined by the GRPUC and adopted by the resolution.

Tampering – If the GRPUC discovers that any controller or related installation materials have been tampered with so as to defeat the intent of the controller, the customer off-peak KWH received by the customer since the date of the last inspection will be charged at the standard rate to the customer's account and become due and payable.  The load management controller will be removed from the customer's premises, and the customer will not be allowed to participate in the load management program.

Liability – The GRPUC will not be liable for any loss or damage caused by or resulting from any interruption of electric service.

Additional information about the Load Management Program may be obtained by contacting the Grand Rapids Public Utilities Commission at 218-326-7024.  Customers wanting to participate in the program can schedule an appointment for a Public Utilities Service Technician to install the control switch.  There is no cost to the homeowner.