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Emergency (509) 926-9800 fax (509) 922-2878

Modern Electric Water Company, a customer owned utility, strives to provide reliable and efficient electric and water services at the lowest possible cost.

What is Demand Billing?

Demand is the rate at which electricity is being used at any one given time. This differs from energy use, which reflects the total amount of electricity consumed over a period of time. Demand is often measured in kilowatts (kW = 1 kilowatt = 1000 watts), while energy use is usually measured in kilowatt hours (kWh = kilowatts x hours of use = kilowatt hours).

Example:

Ten 100-watt light bulbs consume electricity at the rate of 1,000 watts, or 1 kilowatt. That is, they represent a demand of 1 kilowatt.

If the bulbs are left on for three hours, they will have used 3,000 watt-hours or, 3 kilowatt hours of electric energy use (1 kilowatt x 3 hours = 3 kilowatt hours).

The energy use or consumption will increase with the length of time the light bulbs are left on. But, the demand of 1,000 watts or 1 kilowatt, represented by the ten light bulbs, will not change.