Two meters inside one bill
A C&I electricity bill charges you twice:
- Energy (kWh): the units you consumed — what most people optimise.
- Demand (kVA or kW): the fastest you drew power, measured as the highest 15- or 30-minute average in the billing period, charged at a fixed ₹/kVA rate against your recorded maximum demand (and often penalised if you exceed your contracted demand).
The demand line exists because the grid must build wires and transformers for your peak, not your average. It is also why a single startup surge — compressors, furnaces, chillers landing together — can set your cost for the entire month in fifteen minutes.
Why it deserves more attention than it gets
For many industrial consumers, demand-linked components account for a large slice — commonly cited at 30% and upward of the total bill. Unlike energy charges, they do not fall when you consume less overall; they only fall when your peak falls. That makes them stubbornly immune to most efficiency measures — and precisely vulnerable to storage.
How a battery cuts recorded demand
A battery system watches site load in real time. When demand approaches a set threshold, it discharges to serve the excess locally — so the meter never records the spike. This is peak shaving: the load still runs, the process doesn’t change, but the recorded maximum demand drops.
The economics are unusually crisp because peaks are usually short and tall: a battery sized for the top slice of demand — not the whole load — removes a disproportionate share of the charge. Typical moves:
- Read a year of bills — find your recorded maximum demand versus average demand. A big gap means big shaving potential.
- Check your contracted demand — penalties for exceeding it strengthen the case further.
- Stack the value — the same battery doing demand control also earns ToD arbitrage every day.
Estimate both together in our savings calculator, or send us your interval data for a modelled answer.