LEARN / GLOSSARY
Coincident peak
A customer’s demand at the moment the whole system peaks, as distinct from that customer’s own highest demand. The difference determines what a customer costs the system to serve.
Definition
Coincident peak is demand measured at the hour of system maximum. Non-coincident peak is a customer’s own maximum, whenever it occurred. A facility drawing its highest load at two in the morning has a large non-coincident peak and a small coincident one.
Why the dictionary version is insufficient
Peak demand is usually discussed as though a customer had one. It has at least two, and capacity costs attach to the coincident figure because that is the hour the system had to build for. A load that avoids the system peak imposes a far smaller capacity requirement than its meter reading suggests.
Why it matters for capacity
This is the mechanism that gives load flexibility its value. A facility able to shift or reduce draw during system peak is cheaper to serve, and in constrained regions that flexibility is increasingly what makes a connection available on a workable timeline.
Related terms
Load factor · Curtailment · Large load
Appears in
How Electricity Demand Is Measured
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How Electricity Demand Is Measured