Load & Demand Management¶
The Load & Demand Management page gives operators and engineers a complete view of power demand across all energy sources — from the highest recorded peak in recent history to the live load on each section of the plant right now. It is organised into four sections that together answer three key questions:
- How close are we to our contracted demand limit?
- Where in the plant is demand coming from, and how is it changing in real time?
- Is our demand rising or falling over the month or quarter?
Demand Status¶
The top of the page shows demand utilization cards in up to two groups. Use the Last 30 Days / MTD toggle to switch which window is highlighted (both windows are fetched at once; the toggle is instant). Month-to-date (MTD) is highlighted by default, matching the utility billing cycle.
Utility Contracts (facility-level)¶
If you have configured a Sanctioned MD in the Utility Contracts table in Configuration → Incomers Setup, you will see one card per configured source type (e.g. EB, DG). Each card shows the combined peak demand from all incomers of that type against your contracted limit.
| Element | Description |
|---|---|
| Source type badge | EB, Solar, Wind, or DG — the source type this contract covers |
| Meter count | How many individual meters contribute to this aggregate |
| Total peak demand | The sum of peak demand across all incomers of this type in the selected window |
| Recorded timestamp | The time at which the highest individual incomer reached its peak |
| Sanctioned MD progress bar | Aggregate peak as a percentage of the contracted facility limit |
| Utilization badge | High (amber, 70–90%) or Critical (red, ≥ 90%) — only shown when demand is elevated |
These cards are the primary view for tracking your utility billing risk.
Internal Capacity Allocation (per-incomer)¶
If you have configured an Allocated Capacity for individual incomers (an optional, advanced feature), a second group of cards appears below the facility contract cards. Each card shows one incomer machine and its peak demand against its internally allocated limit.
This view is useful for internal load-balancing — for example, knowing which specific transformer is running close to its rated limit. It has no direct link to your utility bill.
If neither utility contracts nor individual allocations are configured, a prompt is shown with a link to Configuration → Incomers Setup.
Colour coding for demand utilization¶
| Colour | Utilization range | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Green | Below 70% | Demand is well within contracted limits |
| Amber — High | 70% to 89% | Approaching the sanctioned limit; monitor closely |
| Red — Critical | 90% or above | Near or at the contracted limit; risk of penalty charges |
How peak demand is determined¶
The platform uses the following priority order for each incomer:
peak_demandtag — A dedicated peak demand parameter from the meter (most accurate).maximum_demandregister — A dedicated maximum demand register, if available.- Apparent power peak (kVA) — The highest apparent power recorded, used as a fallback.
A coloured badge on the card indicates which source is active when it is not the primary peak_demand tag.
Demand is always in kVA
All three sources above are kVA (apparent power) quantities. Active power (kW) is a different measurement and is never used for peak demand — using it would understate your true demand. Demand figures and the Sanctioned MD limit they are compared against are always in kVA.
Peak Active Load¶
Below the demand status cards, a Peak Active Load panel shows the highest simultaneous active power (kW) drawn across all incomers in a single hour, within the selected window (MTD or Last 30 Days).
| Element | Description |
|---|---|
| Peak figure (kW) | The maximum total active power measured across all incomers at the same hour |
| Timestamp | The date and hour at which this peak occurred |
| Incomer breakdown | A horizontal bar for each incomer showing its individual active power at that peak hour |
The breakdown bars are scaled so the incomer with the highest contribution at the peak hour fills the full bar width. Values are shown in kW to the right of each bar.
kW only — not comparable to kVA demand
Peak Active Load measures active power (kW), which is a different quantity to maximum demand (kVA). It is labelled Active Power (kW) and is never compared against your Sanctioned MD. Use it to understand where the load comes from at the moment of highest production draw, not for billing risk assessment.
Live Load Distribution¶
This section shows the live demand right now — both at the supply (incomer) level, where your headroom is measured, and broken down by plant section.
Total Incomer Demand and Available Headroom¶
Two cards at the top of this section give the facility-wide picture, measured at the incomers in kVA:
| Card | Description |
|---|---|
| Total Incomer Demand (live) | The sum of the live demand across all your incomers. Shows "—" if no incomers are streaming live demand. |
| Available Headroom | Your total Sanctioned MD minus the live incomer demand — how much demand capacity remains. Green when you have margin, red when you have exceeded your contracted limit. |
Headroom is measured at the incomers
Headroom compares your contracted Sanctioned MD against the demand drawn at the supply point (the incomers), because that is what the utility meters and bills. The section breakdown below is an internal view of where that load is being used — it does not change the headroom figure.
Tip
Use the available headroom figure to decide whether it is safe to start additional equipment. If headroom is low, consider scheduling large loads for off-peak hours.
By Section — Load Distribution¶
Below the summary cards, each utilization section is shown as a horizontal gauge bar. Click any section to expand it and see the live reading for each machine within it.
| Element | Description |
|---|---|
| Section name | The name configured in EMS → Configuration → Sections Setup |
| Live/Offline indicator | Green means data is streaming live; grey means the section is offline or not yet streaming |
| Live load | The current load across all machines in the section |
| Unit | kVA when the section's meters report apparent power; kW (flagged with an active power badge) when only active power is available; mixed units when a section combines both |
| Allocated MD and % utilization | If a capacity allocation is set for the section and its load is in kVA, the bar shows utilization against that allocation |
Why some sections show kW
Production-floor machines often report only active power (kW), not apparent power (kVA). Where that is the case, the section is labelled kW so you are never shown a kW figure disguised as a kVA demand value. Sections shown in kW are not compared against a kVA allocation.
Demand Trend¶
This section replicates and extends the historical demand chart from the earlier Peak Demand page. Use the period presets and granularity controls to explore trends over time.
Selecting a period¶
| Pill | Period covered |
|---|---|
| Last 30 days | The most recent 30 days |
| Last 3 months | From the start of the month three months ago to today (default on page load) |
| Custom | Any date range you specify |
Selecting Custom reveals date pickers and an Apply button.
Granularity¶
| Option | Chart shows |
|---|---|
| Daily | Peak demand per incomer type each day, as a line chart |
| Weekly | Peak demand per incomer type each week, as a grouped bar chart |
| Monthly | Peak demand per incomer type each month, as a grouped bar chart |
Monthly is the default and aligns with utility billing cycles.
Demand trend chart¶
A line chart (Daily) or grouped bar chart (Weekly / Monthly) with one series per incomer type. Hover over any data point for the exact value. A colour badge in the chart header indicates the data source when the primary peak demand tag is not available (see above).
Each point is the peak, not a total
Every plotted value is the highest peak demand in that bucket — for a monthly view, the highest peak reached during the month. Peak demand is never added up across days or across meters, because a sum would far exceed your actual (and sanctioned) demand. Switching the granularity (Daily / Weekly / Monthly) re-loads the chart at that resolution.
Peak demand summary table¶
Below the chart, a table shows the highest peak demand per source type for the full selected period (not a sum of meters). It also shows the sanctioned MD and % utilization for each source type so you can see at a glance whether any source came close to its contracted limit during the period.
Peak Demand by Section¶
A collapsible panel below the summary table lets you see which sections of your plant drove the highest demand during the selected period.
- Pie chart — each section's share of total peak demand as a percentage.
- Horizontal bar chart — the absolute peak demand per section.
Each section's peak demand is the highest single meter peak recorded in that section over the period — not the sum of its meters, so it never overstates the section's true demand.
This view helps target demand-reduction measures — for example, staggered start-ups or load shedding in the highest-demand section.
Note
The section drill-down uses the same period and data source as the trend chart above it.
Section Load History¶
This section shows how the average and peak active load on each section has changed over the selected period (shared with the Demand Trend controls above).
Chart¶
A stacked bar chart shows the average load per section per time bucket, using the same granularity (daily, weekly, or monthly) as the trend above. The Y-axis is always labelled with the active unit.
When a workspace has sections with both apparent-power (kVA) and active-power (kW) meters, a kW / kVA pill appears above the chart. Active Power (kW) is shown by default, as most energy meters report active power. Switch to kVA to see the apparent-power view. If the workspace has only one unit type, no pill is shown.
Summary table¶
The table below the chart aggregates the full period per section:
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Section | The name configured in EMS → Configuration → Sections Setup |
| Avg Load | The average load across all periods in the selection. Sections with apparent-power meters show a kVA figure; sections with active-power machines show a kW figure. A section with both shows both values stacked |
| Peak (kVA) | The highest apparent-power demand recorded in any period, from meters that report kVA. "—" when the section has no apparent-power meters |
| Peak (kW) | The highest active-power reading recorded in any period, from machines that report kW. "—" when the section has no active-power machines |
| Allocated MD | The capacity allocation configured for this section (if set), in the facility demand unit |
| Headroom | Allocated MD minus Peak (kVA). Green when positive, red when negative. Shows "—" when the section has no kVA data, because a kW figure must never be subtracted from a kVA allocation |
Why separate kVA and kW figures?
Apparent power (kVA) and active power (kW) measure different things and must not be added together or compared directly. Keeping them separate means the Peak (kVA) and Avg Load (kVA) columns are always comparable to the kVA-based Allocated MD, while the kW figures give visibility into active draw from production machines without polluting the demand numbers.