Triad Alerts

With our insight you can take swift action to minimise the impact of costly Triads on your business.

EIC > Services > Smart Procurement > Triad Alerts

For organisations with half-hourly (HH) metered sites, identifying the annual Triad periods is crucial

National Grid identifies three Triads each year in order to calculate the Transmission Network Use of System (TNUoS) charges an organisation will incur. Such transmission costs can be reduced if demand is decreased when a Triad is expected. Our Triad Alerts help clients plan their electricity usage around these dates in order to lower their energy bills.

What is a Triad?

A Triad is one of the three highest peaks of electricity demand between 1 November and the end of February.
These half-hourly periods normally occur between 4pm and 7pm on weekdays.
There must be at least ten days between individual Triads – this means consecutive days of high demand will not yield multiple Triads.

How our Triad Alert Service works

We give a forward view to help our clients react to a possible Triad, while the majority of suppliers only provide on-the-day warnings at most.

Our alerts show the previous ten days’ demand figures alongside National Grid’s demand forecasts for the next 14 days, highlighting each day in a colour corresponding to the level of alert.

During the Triad season, we email our clients an alert each morning based on a traffic light system:

Green Alert – There is no action required
Amber Alert – You should consider action
Red Alert – You should take action now

How do businesses know when to act to a Traid?

Forecasting the Triads is dependent on a wide range of complex factors. Our Triad Alert service monitors different influencers to predict the likelihood of any particular day being a Triad and automatically sends that information promptly to our clients. Businesses can then take informed action to avoid high usage during these more costly half-hour periods, while minimising disruption to their everyday activity.

Our Triad track record of success

Our in-house Triad model has successfully forecast every Triad period for the last eight years. We provide clients with comprehensive alerts advising when a Triad is forecast, so they can reduce consumption accordingly. In addition, we uniquely provide a daily report which includes foresight of the next 14 days alongside a long-term winter outlook allowing our clients to plan ahead.

Why choose EIC?

We have an enviable track record in Triad prediction. EIC has an in-house model which has successfully forecast every triad period for the last ten years.

Clients who responded to our alerts and took action in previous Triad seasons, cut demand by an average of 41% compared to standard peak-period half-hour consumption. This resulted in significant cost savings, with clients who responded to our Triad Alerts saving on average £180,000. The best result saw a client saving just shy of £1 million in TNUoS charges.

By forecasting when Triads will occur, we empower our clients to take control of their consumption and reduce their energy use in order to avoid higher Triad-related charges. Businesses can respond simply by reducing demand during that time or by load-shifting.

Load-shifting involves moving the most energy intensive tasks of the day to a time when it’s less likely that a Triad will occur, for example early in the morning. Load-shifting means firms can avoid Triads without reducing their overall daily usage.

We can provide you with the tools you need to take swift action and react to Triad warnings with our Intelligent Buildings suite of services.