The Western Load Research Association
(WLRA)
1986
The 1986 Spring meeting was hosted by Sierra Pacific Power Company at Lake Tahoe, Nevada. The meeting was chaired by Marv Giddings (Public Service Company of Colorado) and Sheila Newman (Southern California Edison). Thirteen investor-owned utilities in the Western United States were present. Guests included representatives of Fort Collins Light and Power, Southern Company Services, EPRI, Southwest Gas Corporation, Nevada Bell, and a consultant to Puget Sound Power and Light. In addition to the normal utility status reports, presentations were made on a number of topics including the use of personal computers for data translation, the use of statistical analysis to determine end-use load shapes, and the selection of a sample design comparing the MPU, ratio and MBSS estimators. We acknowledged the ongoing efforts of Mary Grady (Puget Sound Power) in developing a spreadsheet of characteristics of member load research departments. Also, we recognized the work of Barbara Dow (Pacific Power and Light) in setting up a resource library of papers concerning load research. In the business session it was agreed to communicate to AEIC our interest in having an advanced class in sample design and statistical analysis conducted in the Western region. It was also suggested that AEIC be approached about conducting a "Fundamentals of Load Research Seminar" for utilities in the West, and that it consider using some of the members of the WSLRG as instructors.
The 1986 Fall meeting was hosted by San Diego Gas & Electric Company in Mission Bay, California. The meeting was chaired by Sheila Newman (Southern California Edison Company) and Marv Giddings (Public Service Company of Colorado). Fourteen investor-owned utilities west of the Rocky Mountains attended this meeting, including a new member utility, Hawaiian Electric Company. Guests included representatives from City of Anaheim, City of Tacoma, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, and consultants for Nevada Power Co. and Southern California Edison. Utility status reports were given, and 13 presentations were made on a variety of topics. These topics included a conditional demand study of appliance load shapes, the integration of a multi-vendor data acquisition system, the PSI-Westinghouse hybrid test, a comparison of ratio and MPU estimators, a method for determining customer demand using load factors, and a future rate group sample design.
The business section included the continuing pursuit of an AEIC Fundamentals of Load Research Seminar to be held in the West next year, the selection of a new librarian, and preparation for the 1987 Spring meeting combining WSLRG and the Western States Load Forecasting Group.
<--- Back To History ---> On to 1987