No. of Recommendations: 4
The demand charge is to compensate the utility for the cost of running wires large enough to carry the maximum load
That makes some sense.
In France, to oversimplify a bit, on top of the charge for consumption they charge you a minimum monthly fee based on the rating of the breaker by the meter, whose capacity you get to choose. That fixed charge is surprisingly high, and it doesn't vary with how much power you use. You're paying for the fact that you MIGHT use that much power.
Jim
