Ice Energy (www.ice-energy.com) has entered into an agreement to provide Redding Electric Utility (REU; Redding, California, U.S.) with its Ice Bear distributed energy-storage system to permanently reduce peak summer electrical demand.

REU, the city of Redding's locally owned and controlled municipal utility, selected Ice Energy's proven, cost-effective storage solution to slow the growth of peak demand and reduce the utility's exposure to costly peak power.

“Redding Electric Utility is committed to delivering safe, reliable, competitively priced electric service to our customers in a sustainable, environmentally-sensitive manner. Ice Energy's solution, the first viable, cost-effective alternative to conventional peaking power plants for meeting peak demand, aligns perfectly with that vision,” said REU Director Paul Hauser. “We see the long-term value and potential for expansion of this solution as very significant.”

Simply by changing how — and more importantly when — energy is consumed for air conditioning, Hauser estimates that 1000 Ice Bear units installed in REU territory would enable the utility to reduce its peak power demand by as much as 7 MW, more than offsetting its planned peak load growth.

Redding's summer weather is dominated by hot, dry sunny days, driving the demand for REU's electricity to provide air-conditioned comfort. Evening temperatures drop by as much as 40 degrees; as temperatures fall so does the demand for and cost of power. Ice Energy's solution enables REU to leverage less-expensive off-peak power and offset the need to run fossil-fuel-burning power plants during the peak of the day.

For businesses and building owners, this means reduced daytime energy consumption, lower energy costs and a smaller environmental footprint, with no operational or behavioral change to negatively impact customer comfort or economic productivity.