Available Supply Capacity is the amount of electrical power that has been allocated for your site to use at any point in time. It is the total amount of electrical load available to your site, or the peak electrical demand you could use if you switched on lots of electrical equipment at the same time.
It can also be referred to as Agreed Supply Capacity, Authorised Supply Capacity, Supply Capacity, Supply Availability or simply ASC. Another common name is Available kVA, due to its unit of measurement.
Distribution Network Operators (DNO) manage the electricity network across the UK, allocating and managing the Available Supply Capacity by region and site. Most organisations with Half-Hourly metered electricity pay a monthly charge for their Available Supply Capacity which can be a significant cost and can lead to penalty charges if exceeded. It is therefore essential to ensure you are operating with the correct capacity to mitigate this.
Organisations have a varying need for electricity supply capacity depending on their size and use. Those with both high and low electricity consumption can benefit from an assessment of their Available Supply Capacity. Evaluation of your consumption data will help to set the ASC in line with your Maximum Demand, optimising your energy expenditure. Savings can be made by decreasing your ASC, however, in some cases, it can be beneficial to increase your ASC to protect against excess capacity charges.
If you haven’t looked at your ASC in a few years, it may not take into consideration any changes you have recently made to your operations, such as adding renewable on-site generation, that may be offsetting your grid electricity consumption. Reviewing your ASC could help you save on significant operational overheads, align it to your long-term business objectives, and even help free up some electrical capacity back in your region.
Getting the right balance is key. Before any change to your available capacity is made a number of factors need to be considered, including the location of your sites, future demand projections, such as purchasing more equipment or properties, and the potential for new energy projects. ASC cannot be changed multiple times and there is no guarantee that any ASC you give up will be available at a later time.
Organisations impacted by the reforms in the Targeted Charging Review could benefit from capacity optimisation to reduce their expected increase in costs. Find out how the Targeted Charging Review will effect your organisation.
Organisations with high energy consumption and Half-Hourly metering such as manufacturing plants, hotels, gyms, and large commercial buildings, will be paying for the Available Supply Capacity that has been allocated to them.
Our capacity optimisation service can benefit organisations looking to have a better understanding of their demand and wanting to reduce utility overheads, especially where there may be a lot of meters installed and a lot of sites with different DNOs.
It can also support where there have been changes in your portfolio, building use, production output, or where renewable energy solutions have been adopted, reducing the amount you are drawing from the grid. Optimising your capacity needs can also help you make future expansion or diversification plans.
As a result of the Ofgem Targeted Charging Review, many organisations will see an increase in their related electricity costs. This can be alleviated through reviewing your Available Capacity and adjusting which Distribution and Transmission bands your charges are based on.
With over 35 years’ experience in the utilities sector, we are extremely knowledgeable about electricity contracts and charges.
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