Wisconsin Electric Power Company is a summer-peaking utility. Our generation peak normally occurs on one of the hottest days of the summer. Peak load is very sensitive to air conditioning requirements. We also have been ordered to develop time-of-use rates. The time-of-use rate concept puts a higher price on the cost of energy during high demand periods than it does during the low demand periods. Rate development indicated a cost of energy during summer days to be more than double present rates while nighttime rates would be about 1/3 of present rates. This kind of rate would heavily penalize a residential air conditioning customer. The penalty is not entirely unjustified since residential air conditioning has a demand that is coincident with the rest of the system peak and has very poor annual load factor. We feel, however, that alternatives must be available to the residential customer with air conditioning and the only way we felt this could be done was with some form of stored cooling.

This paper describes an ice bank system designed for residential use as well as the results of a test of the system. This paper is one of two papers on the topic. The other paper describes the design andapplication of the system.