CPCNH PEAK SHAVE Program
PEAK SHAVE: Providing Electric Aggregations with Knowledge that Some Hours Are Very Expensive
Sign up for alerts. Save energy. Help shave the peak.
PEAK SHAVE is a voluntary alert program from the Community Power Coalition of New Hampshire that lets subscribers know when it would be particularly helpful to reduce electricity consumption during potential peak demand events.
When electricity demand is expected to be especially high, CPCNH will send PEAK SHAVE alerts by email and optional text message. These alerts let you know when to consider simple, voluntary steps to reduce electricity use for a few hours.
Anyone who uses electricity can sign up — including residents, renters, homeowners, businesses, municipalities, and community organizations. Participation is free, flexible, and entirely voluntary.
Sign Up for PEAK SHAVE Alerts
Use the form below to sign up for PEAK SHAVE alerts. Email alerts are available to all participants, and adding your mobile number is strongly encouraged so you can receive timely text reminders when potential peak demand events are expected.
Questions? Contact PeakShaveAlerts@communitypowernh.gov
About the Program
How PEAK SHAVE Works
Demand for electricity changes throughout the day and across the seasons. On hot summer days, demand can rise quickly as people across New England use more electricity at the same time, especially for air conditioning.
These high-demand periods are often called peak events. During peak events, wholesale electricity prices can rise significantly, and reducing electricity use can help ease strain on the regional grid.
PEAK SHAVE alerts are designed to let participants know when CPCNH expects a potential peak demand event. When you receive an alert, you can choose whether and how to reduce electricity use during the event window.
PEAK SHAVE is voluntary. There is no required action, no penalty for not responding, and no direct compensation for participation. The goal is to make it easier for people to take simple, voluntary actions that may help reduce electricity costs and support the New England electric grid.
What to Expect
After signing up, you will receive PEAK SHAVE alerts when a potential peak demand event is expected.
PEAK SHAVE alerts will generally be limited to potential peak events that occur:
Between June 1 and September 30
On weekdays, excluding holidays
Between noon and 8 PM
For a limited number of events each summer season
CPCNH expects to issue no more than 16 PEAK SHAVE alerts per summer season. Alerts will be sent on the day of a potential peak event, typically an hour or two before the event is expected to begin. When possible, CPCNH may also send an alert by 8 PM the night before a potential event so participants have more time to plan.
Ways to Shave the Peak
When demand is projected to be unusually high, CPCNH may ask participants to voluntarily reduce electricity use for a few hours. Small actions can help, especially when many people participate at the same time.
Here are a number of ways to shave the peak at home or at work:
Turn your air conditioning thermostat up a few degrees until the peak has passed.
Draw shades or blinds to help block sunlight and reduce indoor heat.
Unplug your electric vehicle during the peak event.
Run the dishwasher before or after the peak event.
Do laundry early in the day or later at night.
Hang clothes outside to dry when weather allows.
Limit use of large appliances during the event window.
If you have a home battery, consider discharging it during the peak event, unless your utility or another program already manages it remotely.
Take a break from electronic devices and head outside.
Have a cookout instead of using heat-producing kitchen appliances.
Participation is flexible. You can choose the actions that work best for your household, workplace, or organization.
Why Shaving Peaks Matters
Peak demand events can affect electricity costs across the region. When demand rises sharply, the electric grid typically relies on more expensive resources to meet the need for power. Reducing electricity use during these periods can help lower wholesale power prices when the system is under the most pressure.
Shaving peaks can help:
Shift electricity use away from high-cost hours.
Lower the need to ramp up expensive (and often less-efficient and dirtier) peak-period generators.
Reduce strain on the regional grid.
Support future rate stability for customers.
Familiarize communities with the idea of managing their electricity demand.
Pave the way for more advanced demand response opportunities in the future.
Your ability to directly capture specific benefits may vary depending on your electricity rate, meter type, usage patterns, and whether your utility or supplier can directly measure your usage during peak periods. CPCNH’s current program is focused on education, voluntary participation, and shared system benefits rather than individual performance payments. The program is intended to be simple, flexible, and low-cost to operate while helping participants better understand when some hours of electricity use are especially expensive.
What is PEAK SHAVE?
PEAK SHAVE is a voluntary alert program from the Community Power Coalition of New Hampshire. Participants receive email alerts and optional text messages when CPCNH expects a potential peak demand event.
These alerts let participants know when reducing electricity use for a few hours may be particularly helpful during high-cost periods on the regional electric grid.
What does PEAK SHAVE stand for?
PEAK SHAVE stands for Providing Electric Aggregations with Knowledge that Some Hours Are Very Expensive.
The name reflects the purpose of the program: to help our member Community Power Aggregations (or, really, anyone who subscribes) understand when electricity demand is expected to be especially high and to provide a timely opportunity to reduce usage.
Who can sign up?
Anyone who uses electricity can sign up. PEAK SHAVE is open to residents, renters, homeowners, businesses, municipalities, community organizations, and other electricity users.
You do not need to be a CPCNH customer to participate.
What is a peak demand event?
A peak demand event is a period when electricity use is expected to be especially high. These events often happen on hot summer weekdays when people across New England use more electricity at the same time, especially for air conditioning.
During these periods, wholesale electricity prices can rise significantly, and the electric grid may experience additional strain.
When will PEAK SHAVE alerts be sent?
PEAK SHAVE alerts will generally be sent during the summer peak season, from June 1 through September 30.
Alerts will be focused on potential peak demand events that occur on weekdays, excluding holidays, generally between noon and 8 PM.
CPCNH will send an alert on the day of a potential peak event, typically an hour or two before it starts. When possible, CPCNH may also send an alert by 8 PM the night before a potential event so participants have more time to plan.
How many alerts will I receive?
CPCNH expects to issue no more than 16 PEAK SHAVE alerts per summer season.
Alerts will only be sent when CPCNH identifies a potential peak demand event or some other abnormal system condition. The program is intended to be limited and targeted, not a frequent notification list.
How will I receive alerts?
Participants can receive PEAK SHAVE alerts by email. Optional text messages are also available and strongly encouraged so participants can receive timely reminders close to the start of a potential event.
You can provide your mobile number when signing up if you want to receive text alerts.
What should I do when I receive an alert?
When you receive a PEAK SHAVE alert, consider reducing electricity use during the event window. You can choose the actions that work best for your home, workplace, or organization.
Common options include adjusting your thermostat, delaying use of large appliances, unplugging an electric vehicle, reducing electronics use, or shifting electricity use to earlier or later in the day.
Is participation required?
No. Participation is entirely voluntary. PEAK SHAVE alerts are informational reminders that give you the opportunity to reduce electricity use during potential peak demand events.
You choose whether and how to respond to each alert. There is no penalty for not reducing electricity use during an event.
Will I be paid to participate?
No. PEAK SHAVE does not currently provide direct compensation to individual participants.
The program is designed to be simple, voluntary, and low-cost to operate. It is focused on helping people understand peak demand events and giving them an opportunity to reduce electricity use when it may be most valuable.
Why doesn't CPCNH pay participants directly?
Directly compensating individual customers for demand reduction requires the ability to measure how much each participant reduced demand during a specific event. This is difficult to accomplish without hourly meter data and a market structure that enables individuals or their electricity suppliers to directly capture the benefits that they themselves created by shaving peaks.
Because electricity bills for many customers in New Hampshire are still settled using assumed hourly load profiles rather than actual hourly usage, CPCNH cannot yet reliably measure the demand response of PEAK SHAVE alert recipients.. This is why PEAK SHAVE is currently structured as a voluntary alert program rather than as a more formal “pay for performance” demand response program.
How can shaving peaks help reduce costs?
Reducing demand during a PEAK SHAVE event can lower your total electricity consumption for the month, which—all else equal—should reduce your monthly bill.
When many people shave their electricity usage during the same high-demand period, the combined impact can significantly lower demand on the electric system. This may help relieve pressure on the regional grid, avoid some high-cost electricity purchases, and support future rate stability.
The extent to which you can directly benefit will vary depending on your electricity rate, meter type, and whether your utility or supplier can directly measure your usage during peak periods.
Why does my meter type matter?
Some meters record electricity use in hourly or shorter intervals. These are often called interval meters. Having interval meter data makes it easier to measure when electricity was used and whether usage changed during a specific peak event.
Without interval meter data, a customer’s hourly usage is typically estimated and settled using assumed average hourly load profiles. This makes it harder to measure individual demand reductions during a specific event, even when a customer takes action.
Can renters, businesses, and organizations participate?
Yes. PEAK SHAVE is open to renters, homeowners, businesses, municipalities, nonprofits, community organizations, and other electricity users.
Renters can participate by taking actions within their control, such as adjusting thermostat settings, delaying appliance use, reducing electronics use, or shifting electricity use outside of the event window.
Businesses and organizations may be able to participate by adjusting cooling settings, shifting equipment use, delaying EV charging, or reducing non-essential electricity use during event windows.
Will CPCNH control my thermostat, appliances, or devices?
No. PEAK SHAVE is an alert program only. CPCNH will notify participants when a potential peak demand event is expected, but participants remain fully in control of whether and how they respond.
PEAK SHAVE does not give CPCNH control over your thermostat, appliances, electric vehicle, battery, or any other device. Any action you take is voluntary and controlled by you.
Can I opt out or ask questions?
Yes. You can opt out of PEAK SHAVE alerts at any time.
Questions about PEAK SHAVE can be sent to PeakShaveAlerts@communitypowernh.gov
Does PEAK SHAVE compete with or replace other demand response programs offered by the local distribution utilities?
No. PEAK SHAVE complements, rather than competing with or replacing, other demand response programs. PEAK SHAVE alerts are purely informational, and PEAK SHAVE participants are free to sign up with more transactional demand response or energy efficiency programs offered by their local distribution utilities.
Ready to Help Shave the Peak?
Sign up for PEAK SHAVE alerts to receive email and optional text notifications when potential peak demand events are expected.
Reducing electricity use for just a few hours can help ease strain on the grid and keep a lid on wholesale electricity costs, thereby supporting future rate stability for all.
Questions? Contact PeakShaveAlerts@communitypowernh.gov