Demand Response and Load Management Strategies for Electric Forklifts and Non-Road EV Fleets

Non-road electric vehicles (NREVs) such as forklifts and golf carts utilize grid power to charge batteries, and today much of this power is utilized on-peak. Estimates are as high as 100 MW in SCE service territory alone. Since batteries are by nature an energy storage technology, many customers find that charging can be easily shifted away from system peak hours, saving them money and enhancing the utility’s system reliability. For many years various demand response (DR), energy efficiency (EE) and load management (LM) programs have relied on customers to interrupt or curtail their various electrical loads and processes during emergency events or high cost time intervals. Electric utility tariffs further encourage customers to actively manage their on-peak demand, which often involve voluntary interruptions for economic gain. SCE has helped customers identify non-road EV load shifting opportunities from 2001 2006 at over 200 business customer locations, advising on how to actively manage battery charging loads (and other loads) either manually or automatically for economic benefit. However, NREV battery charging is better suited to load shifting than demand response. Battery manufacturing, on the other hand, is very compatible with both. Yet most business customers still do not actively manage their battery charging despite the benefits. Some of the areas I will address are listed below: · Background of NREV demand-side management · Goals and target markets · Utility control opportunities and customer load management strategies · Barriers to action · Real world examples · Looking ahead