24 July 2019

What are Triads?

Is your print company a major power user? If yes, you need to know about Triads.

Triads are a relatively simple concept - the Triads are charges for non-domestic consumers with half-hourly meters. This charge is based on consumption for three half-hourly periods over the winter (hence the term ‘Triad') when the transmission network is operating at its highest demand, half-hour periods on the electricity system per annum. The half hour periods are usually between 17:00 and 18:00 on winter evenings, when industrial demand coincides with residential demand beginning its early evening pick-up.

As the Triads have to be a minimum of ten days apart and in practice they tend to happen in the three coldest 'snaps' of the winter. The Triad season runs from the start of November to the end of February, but it's not possible to define with absolute certainty which half hours have been the Triads for the winter until the end of the season.

In 2018/19 the Triads were on;

·  Thursday 22 November 2018 from 17:00-17:30

·  Monday 10 December 2018 from 17:00-17:30

·  Wednesday 23 January 2019 from 17:30-18:00

Triad charges to a business can range from around £15 - £40 per kilowatt depending on where you are in the country. For the half hour period this charge will replace your usual £ per kilowatt. So, in any half-hour on a cold day in winter when there's a chance of a Triad, it makes sense to minimise your power consumption.

Being aware of trends in the market and following forecasts can help your business save on its energy bill. Most businesses typically try to predict these Triad periods in order to lessen their energy consumption at these times. As a result, Triads are usually welcomed by large business users of electricity as they have a good opportunity to reduce their energy bills, by switching off or lowering their energy at a time which coincides with one of the Triad periods.

If you would like to learn more about Triads or need help trying to reduce your energy consumption, contact us at [email protected]