Electric Demand Characteristics of Nebraska Farmsteads

Abstract

ABSTRACT ELECTRIC demands on 35 farmsteads in a five-county area in central Nebraska were studied. Data for rural residential customers were stratified for sampling. Stratifications were based on average monthly kilowatt-hour (kWh) usage during 1979. Low (100 to 750 kWh), medium (751 to 1,500 kWh), and high (>1,500 kWh) categories were selected. Within the high category, specialty strata of cattle, dairy, grain, poultry, and swine were identified and randomly sampled. Graphs of three seasonal peak days for both 1981 and 1982 for the coincidental, average demand of each group are presented and show unique daily demand patterns for each category. In addition, graphs of the maximum, average, and minimum demands are shown for each month of 1981 and 1982 which illustrate seasonal peak demands in summer, fall, and winter. The monthly load factors are also shown. Load duration curves, which illustrate the effectiveness of utilization of power for the peak winter, summer, and fall months for a selected year are presented for each category. Identifiable demand patterns were found for all of the specialty groups within the high category. Peak demands of the low group were very similar to those in the medium group; however, the average demand of the low group were lower and this poor utilization is reflected in the load duration curves for the low group.