The use of computers in electrical power management

This paper discusses the use of computers in the management of electrical energy. Material is presented that will be useful to a prospective power management system designer or buyer with emphasis on computer software and hardware. Various components of a power management environment are defined: power company, power consuming installation and the computerized controller. The computer is represented as a tool used by the power consuming installation to reduce the demand for electricity. A detailed description of a power management system is given with particular attention focused on the following areas: inputs and outputs to the system, calculation schemes, system feedback characteristics, hardware requirements, system architecture and limitations on system effectiveness. Implementation tradeoffs are discussed.